Petty disputes are being recorded as crime in a “completely mad way” that is scaring the public, a police chief has said.
Sir David Thompson, chief constable of the West Midlands, told The Times that verbal spats between neighbours were being registered as criminal incidents in official data submitted to the government.
Police-recorded crime in England and Wales hit a new high last week with a total of 6.5 million offences in the 12 months to June 2022, up from the previous all-time high of 6.3 million in the year to March.
