Our 'arrest-shy' police: They make half the number the Americans do, warns think-tank

Officers in England and Wales arrest an average of only nine crime suspects each per year  -  compared to 21 in the U.S., says a think tank.

The Institute of Public Policy Research also warns the public are increasingly unhappy with the response they receive from officers.

The proportion saying that the police do a 'good or excellent job' fell from 64 per cent in 1996 to just 48 per cent in 2004/05.

The institute, which has been nicknamed New Labour's favourite think-tank, said one solution could be to hand more power to town halls. It said the current system of police authorities is 'weak, remote and unaccountable', and is one reason why public satisfaction with the police is lower than in the past.

'Arrest-shy': British police make half the number of arrests of their American counterparts.

The IPPR's Guy Lodge said: 'Recent efforts to increase police accountability to the Home Office through central targets have had only limited success and have made policing less responsive to local needs and circumstances.

'At the local level, weak and remote police authorities do not provide an effective check on police performance.' The report proposed a series of changes, including a 'radical step' to give local councils control of community policing, setting budgets and priorities and appointing local police commanders.

Other options included directly-elected police commissioners to hold chief constables to account, granting directly- elected mayors the power to hold the police to account, or elected police boards.

The Government has already announced that it is considering introducing 'directly elected representatives' to oversee police forces for the first time, with more details due in a new Police Reform Bill expected later this month. Currently, police authority membership includes elected councillors from district and county councils, but they are not voted on to the police organisation.

Mr Lodge added: 'The Government rightly accepts the need to improve police accountability and give the public a greater say in shaping policing priorities through direct election.'

In May a separate report warned that the middle classes in Britain have lost faith in a police service which targets the law-abiding simply to meet Government targets.

A study by the Civitas think-tank revealed soaring complaints from this group about 'neglect of duty' or 'impoliteness' by officers. The author, respected journalist Harriet Sergeant, said police were also treating incidents as crimes which they would previously have ignored. Examples given to her included a man arrested for placing his foot in the door of a lift, and children chalking on a pavement.