THOUSANDS of crimes are being reported but not recorded in Essex, new figures have revealed.

While Essex Police were rated as outstanding they still failed to record 6,700 crimes or properly track 2,500 violent crimes.

The force defended its record and pointed out they received the highest rating from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services for crime recording.

Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said: “I’m really proud of this result and really proud of all the officers, staff and specials whose excellent work on crime recording has led to us being judged as outstanding.

“HMICFRS completed a thorough inspection of our crime reports and found that we accurately record 95.8 per cent, which is a huge improvement on our previous performance.

“The inspectors found that we still have some work to do in ensuring we record every crime correctly. Their inspection estimated around 6,700 crimes per year are incorrectly recorded. In the 12 months to August 2019, Essex Police recorded a total of 166,959 crimes which would mean the estimate of those not recorded correctly would make up four per cent of this total.”

Commissioner Roger Hirst added: “This is great news and really commends the commitment officers and staff have to getting it right and doing the best they can for the people of Essex. It is impressive and gives people confidence in their police force.

“Good data is the basis for good policing decisions, and makes sure the force can deploy the right resources to the right places, so Essex Police can be as efficient and effective as possible.

“Thank you to everyone for their hard work and dedication.”