SBA Police Counting And Detection Rules PDF

**SBA POLICE COUNTING AND DETECTION RULES** **TABLE OF DOCUMENT DETAILS** +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Title | | +===================================+===================================+ |...

**SBA POLICE COUNTING AND DETECTION RULES** **TABLE OF DOCUMENT DETAILS** +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Title | | +===================================+===================================+ | Reference No | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Relevant Department or Group | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Ownership | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Document Author | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Approved by | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Approval Date | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Implementation Date | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | To be Reviewed Date | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Last Revised Date | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Quality Assured by | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Protective Marking | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Linked to other | | | | | | Standing Order | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Relevant Legislation | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ | Pages | | | | | | (including this page) | | +-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+ **TABLE OF CONTENTS** [Rule A - Recording](#s1) [Page 3](#s1) [Section 1](#s1) ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------- ------------------------------------- [Whether To Record](#s11) [Page 3](#s11) [Section 1.1](#s11) [ ] [When To Record](#s12) [Page 3](#s12) [ ] [Section 1.2](#s12) [Rule B - Classification](#s2) [Page 4](#s2) [ ] [Section 2](#s2) [ ] [Re-Classification](#s21) [Page 4](#s21) [ ] [Section 2.1](#s21) [RULE C -- No Case](#s3) [Page 5](#s3) [Section 3](#s3) [Rule D -- One Offence Per Victim](#s4) [Page 5](#s4) [Section 4](#s4) [RULE E -- The Finished Incident Rule](#s5) [Page 6](#s5) [Section 5](#s5) [Rule F -- The Principle Offence Rule](#s6) [Page 7](#s6) [Section 6](#s6) [Rule G -- Offences Committed Affecting Jurisdiction](#s7) [Page 7](#s7) [Section 7](#s7) [Rule H - Detections](#s8) [Page 7](#s8) [Section 8](#s8) [Basic Principle](#s81) [Page 7](#s81) [Section 8.1](#s81) [Methods Of Detection](#s82) [Page 7](#s82) [Section 8.2](#s82) [Counting And Classification](#s83) [Page 10](#s83) [Section 8.3](#s83) [Abbreviations and Glossary](#s9) [Page 10](#s9) [Section 9](#s9) [Whether and when to record Crime-Diagram](#s10) [Page 11](#s10) [Section 10](#s10) **1.** []{#s1.anchor}**Rule A - Recording** 1.1 []{#s11.anchor}[Whether to record] **Except for offences dealt with by other agencies, any [notifiable criminal offence](#NotifiableCriminalOffence) which comes to the attention of the Police should be recorded. The overall responsibility for accurate Recording and Initial Classification of criminal offences lies with the Divisional CID & CJU Inspector, who should closely monitor crime recording in accordance with the principles of this policy.** **Final classification of all detected cases of criminal offences lies with SBAP in consultation with AGLA's office. Offences committed within the SBA's that has been dealt with by agencies other than the SBA Police should not be recorded unless there has been a contribution to the investigation by the SBA Police, other than the provision of custody facilities.** 1.2 []{#s12.anchor}[When to record] **Crime should be recorded as soon as the decision to record has been made (or as soon as possible afterwards).** A crime should be recorded as soon as a report is received or a statement of complaint is obtained. Recording should not be delayed in order to await further details of the case including the likelihood of detection. Any delay should be made only if there are administrative difficulties that prevent immediate recording or if an initial record needs to be validated by a nominated Officer before finalization. **2.** []{#s2.anchor}**Rule B - Classification** **Classification of a recorded crime should be made at the time of recording. The offence chosen should be the one with which a [suspect](#SUSPECT) would possibly be charged, given the information at the time of recording.** **This means that there will be occasions where the offence recorded does not equate with the offence with which a suspect is actually charged (or dealt with by other method of detection).** **Under No circumstances should a criminal offence be recorded in the same CMS with traffic of Admin Offences.** **Whenever a criminal case involves more than one criminal offences, the most serious one should be recorded in the respective CMS as offence No 1, followed by all other offences involved. This is because the CMS is so designed to produce statistics based on the No 1 offence recorded in each CMS and therefore the final classification of the case should reflect the nature of No 1 offence.** **2.1** []{#s21.anchor}**[Re-Classification]** **A recorded crime cannot be re-classified at a later date unless it is re-classified to a homicide offence (i.e. murder, manslaughter or infanticide).** **The "No Case" procedure (see Rule C below) should not be used to re-classify a recorded crime.** **If during the investigation into a case evidence has been received that shows that an offence already recorded is actually different to the one committed, then the offence should remain as originally recorded and be classified by the [DCM](#DCM) as "No case". A new Offence which reflects the evidence in hand should then be recorded in the [same] CMS as Offence No 1.** **3.** []{#s3.anchor}**Rule C -- No Case** **A recorded offence should be classified as a "NO CASE" if one of the following criteria is satisfied:** a. b. c. d. e. **Example:** **The police are called to the scene of an alleged crime. The alleged victim is found and refuses to supply any information relating to the incident and does not want the matter taken any further. The police officer in attendance finds [no] other evidence to support that a crime took place.** **Raise CMS and a case file (docket) including photocopy of officer's notebook entry signed by the alleged victim [or] a short statement by the officer. Submit to the Divisional Crime Manager who will review and classify as "no case".** **If the attending officer finds evidence to support the allegation that a crime has been committed the crime should be recorded and investigated even if the victim refuses to provide any information.** **4.** []{#s4.anchor}**Rule D -- One Offence Per Victim** **The general rule of one crime per victim applies to crimes with specific, intended or identifiable victims.** **For offences against the person, the victim is the aggrieved person.** **For offences against property, the victim is generally the owner of the property targeted. In vehicle crime for example, the offences are counted in terms of numbers of registered owner's vehicles, which may not exactly coincide with numbers of vehicles. The victim of a burglary in a dwelling is the household targeted rather than individual owner's property.** **If there is no specific, intended victim of an offence, or if the offence is "victimless", then one offence should be counted for each offender or group of offenders -- This rule is clarified when applied to the relevant individual offence.** **In general, for offenders to constitute a group, three characteristics need to be established.** a. b. c. **If a person is a victim of more than one offence, count the offences separately if there is evidence that the offender(s) acted independently.** **5.** []{#s5.anchor}**Rule E -- The Finished Incident Rule** **An incident comprising a sequence of offences between the same offender (or group of offenders) and the same victim should be counted as one offence if reported to the Police all at once.** **The notion of "one case for each occasion" is now redundant in the counting of crime. There is no time limit for the sequence of offences. The incident can comprise offences of different types. Classification then depends on the Principle Offence rule (see Section F below).** **An incident should be regarded as finished when it comes to the notice of the Police.** **If the offending resumes after it comes to the Police's notice, then further offences are recorded whenever they come to the notice of the Police.** **6.** []{#s6.anchor}**Rule F -- The Principle Offence Rule** **If the sequence of offences in an incident, or a complex crime, contains more than one type of offence, then count the most serious offence, which carried the heaviest punishment.** **(As stated in section E these incidents must involve the same offender and victim.)** **7.** []{#s7.anchor}**Rule G -- Offences Committed Affecting Jurisdiction** **Where an offence committed affects both the jurisdiction of SBA Police and another agency, the offence should be recorded by both Police Forces involved, as appropriate.** **Investigation can be carried out jointly, however if there are practical difficulties, negotiations can be made, particularly on the basis of who is taking the lead in investigating it.** **In the case of continuity of offences been committed in both jurisdictional Police Force areas, they should be recorded by the respective Police Forces.** **8.** []{#s8.anchor}**Rule H -- Detections** 8.1 []{#s81.anchor}[Basic Principle] An offence is deemed to be detected when [all] of the conditions listed below are met: 1. A notifiable offence has been committed and recorded (see General Rule A). 2. A suspect has been identified and interviewed by a Police officer or, if an interview is not necessary to determine guilt, has been [formally charged](#FormalCharge) for the offence(s). 3. There must be sufficient evidence to charge the suspect with the crime. The evidence supporting the case must be such that if given in Court it would carry some prospects conviction. It must be contained within signed witness statements or in other satisfactory documentary form. Where this is not the case, the crime will remain undetected. 8.2 []{#s82.anchor}[Methods of Detection] Once the overall principle has been satisfied, the crime can only be classified as detected for recording purposes using one of the following four methods: \(a) A person has been formally charged by the Police, charged before the Court or summoned for the offence (irrespective of any subsequent acquittal at Court). The offence with which a person is charged must be provable by evidence, which if given in Court would be likely to result in a conviction. If a Prosecuting Officer from [AGLA](#AGLA)'s Office discontinues the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence, a senior officer of Inspector rank or higher should review the reasons for the charge. If the senior officer agrees that there were indeed no prospects for conviction, then the detection must be cancelled. The Opinion of the Prosecuting Officer should be always taken into consideration. \(b) The offender has been cautioned by the Police, following admission of the offence when formally charged. This procedure should be done with the approval and directions of the AGLA's office. \(c) The offence has been taken into consideration by the Court. \(d) No further action has been taken by the Police, for any of the following reasons: - The offender dies before proceedings could be initiated or completed. - The offender is ill and is unlikely to recover or too mentally disturbed for proceedings to be taken. - It is ascertained that an offence has been committed by a child under the age of criminal responsibility. - The complainant or an essential witness is dead and the proceedings cannot be pursued. - There is admissible evidence to charge the offender with a summary offence but the AGLA decides not to prosecute on grounds of limited prospects of conviction. - There is sufficient admissible evidence to charge the offender but the AGLA decides that no useful purpose would be served by proceeding with the charge. "[No useful purpose]" Means that one of the following circumstances can apply: - If the crimes were committed years before and prosecution would be an abuse of process. - Prosecution is not in the public interest. - The attendance of a victim or an essential witness at Court is considered inappropriate. - There would be sufficient admissible evidence to charge but the victim or an essential witness refuses, or is permanently unable, or if a juvenile is not permitted to give evidence. "[Victim/essential witness refuses]" There is no requirement for the refusal of the victim or essential witness to relate to evidence given in Court. A refusal to give evidence at any time is sufficient. The refusal will normally be recorded by a signed witness statement or signed pocket book entry, but in exceptional circumstances a note by the Officer in their pocket book or other official record will be sufficient when a victim refuses to do either of the former. "[Permanently unable]" The victim may be permanently unable to give evidence for reasons that they are: - Dead; - Permanently ill; - Mentally/physically incapable; - Overseas and not likely to return in the near future; or not traced. ["Juvenile is not permitted]" A juvenile may not be permitted to give evidence by, for example, the parent or guardian, or by an appropriate authority such as Social Services. ["Offender already serving a sentence for another offence"] In general an offence cannot be detected for recording purposes by this method if the suspect is already serving a sentence (custodial or otherwise) for another offence. The only exception is where an offender is serving a sentence when evidence becomes available which, regardless of an admission, is sufficient to charge him/her. In such a case the offence can be detected by this method with the authority of the AGLA. 8.3 []{#s83.anchor}[Counting and Classification] A detection should be classified and counted in the same way as the recorded offence. If further offences are discovered then they can additionally be recorded and detected, providing that the general counting rules above are applied. A detection can not be cancelled once finalised by the Police unless a genuine error has occurred. If the subsequent case is discontinued on evidential grounds, then the detection should not be cancelled if an Officer of Inspector rank still stands by the reasons for charging. A Recorded crime can be detected only if there is evidence or an admission concerning that particular incident. An offence committed by a group of people can be detected when one member of the group is apprehended. **9.** []{#s9.anchor}**Abbreviations and Glossary** ***AGLA:** The Attorney General & Legal Adviser of SBA Administration.* ***CMS:** Case Management System. An application of the SBA Police Computer System, for the management of Police investigations.* ***DCM:** Divisional Crime Manager. Divisional Detective Inspector in-charge of CID.* ***Formal Charge:** Is a formal procedure whereby a person suspected of an offence, is charged in writing by a by a Police Investigator of the offense he is suspected of having committed. It is usually the final stage of a Police investigation concerning a detected case.* ***Notifiable Criminal Offence:** criminal offence against the provisions of the Criminal Code of the SBA or any other SBA's legislation other than Traffic or Administrative.* ***Suspect:** Is a person suspected on reasonable grounds of having involvement in a criminal case under investigation, declared as such by the I.O* **10.** []{#s10.anchor}**Whether and When to Record a Crime** **WHETHER & WHEN TO RECORD A CRIME** **(including SBAPS entries, docket, "no case", cautions)** Yes Yes No Yes