It has been revealed that police are failing to report almost 800,000 crimes a year, including reports of sexual offences, in an attempt to keep to police targets. A staggering one in five reports are unrecorded.

The shocking statistics have been revealed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, which describes the numbers as ‘inexcusably poor and indefensible’.

The damning report released today reveals officers are routinely failing victims of rape and sexual offences. Almost half of the 43 forces in England and Wales made errors in their recording of rapes, with more than 200 offences written off as no crime having taken place. But inspectors found that in 20 per cent of those cases, the decision was wrong.

The police are consumed with hitting targets and maintaining statistics to the point that they have jeopardised the foundation of their jobs – to protect. Vulnerable and often traumatised victims are being coerced into dropping cases or not reporting them at all, to satisfy target-driven individuals.

A staggering one in five reports are unrecorded.

The worst forces identified were Avon and Somerset, Dyfed-Powys, Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Merseyside. Whilst the best police forces for reporting crime were the West Midlands, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire.

Picture: Ray Forster