Vulnerable victims of repeated anti-social behaviour are "slipping through the net", the Chief Inspector of Constabulary said today as it emerged millions of people feel let down by police.
A mother has backed a new report released today which shows that anti-social behaviour victims are "slipping through the net".
Asher Nardone told ITV's Daybreak that more needs to be done to monitor reports of anti-social behaviour.
– Javed Khan, chief executive of Victim SupportAlthough HMIC's report shows that the police have improved in supporting victims of anti-social behaviour, they cannot be complacent - more needs to be done.
It takes a lot of courage for victims to call the police and they need to know they'll receive a high level of support and be kept in the loop about their case.
It is unacceptable that some police forces are lagging behind others.
It would be in the best interests of both victims and the police for proven approaches of 'what works' to actually be delivered.
– A Home Office spokesmanThis report highlights that progress is being made in every police force but that there are still areas for improvement.
"Plans in our anti-social behaviour White Paper will give victims the chance to have their problem dealt with immediately.
"We will slash the confusing legislation that leaves victims without a voice, and police and other agencies without the ability to really tackle the problem.
"And from November, Police and Crime Commissioners will provide a stronger and more accountable police force and ensure the needs of local people are met."
– Sir Denis O'ConnorPolice have generally improved their responsiveness to ASB and victim satisfaction has improved."The next step in reducing risk to the public is for forces to consistently apply practices that identify repeat victimisation and those that suffer from it."
Many victims of anti-social behaviour are slipping through the net, because forces rely on IT systems to identify victims, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said.
The HMIC report stated: "Software cannot pick up if a caller has repeatedly suffered ASB before but is calling police about it for the first time.
"We found that only five forces consistently question the caller to establish repeat victimisation and no forces regularly use verbal checks to determine vulnerability.
"This means some victims are effectively slipping through the net and not getting the extra support they may need.
"Improvements in this area must be the next important step in the journey to tackling ASB effectively."
Other findings carried out by The Chief Inspector of Constabulary showed that few forces in England and Wales questioned victims to establish whether their complaint was a one-off or whether the caller was persistently targeted.
32% of the public are dissatisfied with the way police in their local area dealt with a report of anti-social behaviour. 55% of those surveyed were satisfied.
The survey was carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) - who reviewed 43 forces.
– Sir Denis O'Connor"You cannot say it (anti-social behaviour) can be absolutely eliminated that would be false.
"But what you've actually got to actively do, professionally, is reduce that (level of anti-social behaviour) and this is the path to reducing the likelihood of that awful thing happening again."
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary has said improvements have been made in tackling anti-social behaviour but it was impossible to eradicate altogether.
Sir Denis O'Connor's new report into anti-social behaviour showed an overall improvement in victim satisfaction.
But the survey - entitled A Step In The Right Direction - identified a series of problem areas.
Sir Denis said there was still a "long way to go" and accepted cases of extreme anti-social behaviour were impossible to eradicate altogether.