Public confidence in the police has been “severely dented” as forces struggle to deliver an effective service, a Commons committee has warned.
It is taking longer to charge suspects, fewer arrests are being made and neighbourhood presences have been stripped back, MPs said.
Falls in funding and staffing levels have left constabularies under “increasing strain”, according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
It highlighted how police are dealing with more incidents which are not crime-related at a time when violent and sexual offending is on the rise.
The assessment – the latest to raise serious concerns about the state of policing in England and Wales – said: “Policing by consent relies on public confidence and this is being severely dented.
“Forces are struggling to deliver an effective service: it is taking longer to charge offences; they are making fewer arrests; they are doing less neighbourhood policing, and public satisfaction is declining.”
The committee cited figures showing that the proportion of crimes resulting in a charge or summons dropped from 15% in March 2015 to 9% in March 2018.
Police are carrying out less proactive work, the report added, pointing to falls in the numbers of breathalyser tests, motoring fixed penalties and convictions for drug trafficking and possession.
The PAC also levelled criticism at the Home Office, accusing the department of failing to show “strategic leadership” of the policing system and having only a “limited understanding” of the resources forces need.
“The police’s main duties are to protect the public and prevent crime,” the report said. “But only about a quarter of the emergency and priority incidents that the police respond to are crime-related.”
PAC chairwoman Meg Hillier said: “The ‘thin blue line’ is wearing thinner with potentially dire consequences for public safety.
“Public confidence and trust that the police will respond is breaking down.
“This cannot continue. Government must show leadership and get on with fixing the flaws at the heart of its approach to policing.”
The report was released amid fresh concern over rising violent crime in London, where 119 violent deaths have occurred so far this year – five in the last week alone.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the PAC’s findings were “another damning indictment of this Government’s abject failure to show leadership at a time when our police are being asked to do more with significantly less officers, and when they are having to pick up the pieces as a result of savage cuts to other frontline public services”.
Policing Minister Nick Hurd said it was important for forces to “get the basics right” despite the complexities and demands of modern policing.
He said all reports of crime should receive an initial investigation and any decision not to probe further must be communicated to victims – or risk damaging the public’s trust.
However, writing in the Daily Telegraph, he highlighted that police budgets are ultimately paid for by taxes.
“This feels like a watershed moment in British policing, long recognised as among the best in the world,” the minister wrote.
“While the landscape of crime has changed, the basic expectations on the police remain the same.
“The public know our police are under pressure. But we also know public services are run on the money we pay in tax and these finite resources need to be prioritised and allocated appropriately.”
A slew of figures and highly-critical reports have prompted intense scrutiny of police performance and funding.
The number of arrests in England and Wales has halved in a decade, while recorded crime has risen across a number of categories including homicide and knife-related offences.
Last week, one of the country’s most senior officers called for a refocus on “core policing”.
National Police Chiefs’ Council chairwoman Sara Thornton warned forces are too stretched to take on all “deserving” issues, such as logging misogyny reports when no offence has been committed.
Police funding has fallen by 19% in real terms since 2010, while officer numbers have decreased by more than 20,000 over the same period.
Pressure on ministers to provide a cash injection intensified after a warning from another Commons committee that policing risks becoming “irrelevant” amid vanishing neighbourhood presences and low investigation and detection rates.
While last week’s Budget included £160 million for counter-terror policing, the Government faced criticism from the rank-and-file over the absence of any commitment for general police funding.
Chief Constable Dave Thompson, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for finance, said the report “recognises the increasing strain on police forces as we deal with rising crime, demand that is more complex and, more than ever, being called on as a last resort when other agencies lack their own capacity”.
A Home Office spokesman said: “We are on the front foot in engaging with the police and recognise the changing demands they are facing.
“The Government’s balanced approach to the economy has helped ensure there is £1 billion more of public money going into policing than three years ago, and the Home Secretary has been clear that he will prioritise police funding.”
