He said victims were kept waiting for “months longer than they should”. He cited one case from 2018 now scheduled for trial in 2023. “I prepare my victims from day one that this could be a very long process, not only investigating it but from charge to court appearances to trial. It is frustrating,” he said.

The change in CPS rules in 2020 stems from a series of cases that collapsed after fresh evidence emerged at trial that should have been investigated earlier. Police say the balance has now tilted too far in the other direction.

In Devon and Cornwall, a poll found a quarter of the force’s detectives were considering quitting, citing extra paperwork. Word of the bureaucratic pressures has spread, deterring new recruits in a branch of policing where 20 per cent of the 29,000 detective roles are already unfilled.

Andy Berry, chairman of the force’s Police Federation, said: “Depending on the case and its complexity, this extra time can run from hours to days. The problem is that if the CPS decides not to charge, or the defendant pleads guilty, all this additional work is wasted and that is just plain inefficient.”

Glyn Pattinson, chairman of the federation’s national detective forum, demanded an urgent rethink to streamline processes and adopt a lighter touch review of cases before taking decisions, to avoid wasted work. “This needs to be done for the victim to bring cases to resolution quicker,” he said.

The CPS said the public rightly expected thorough police investigations that pursued all reasonable lines of inquiry. A spokesman said: “Sometimes that requires more time and work. This avoids unnecessary delays later on and means fewer dropped cases, which is in the interests of all parties involved.

“Police are only required to send cases to the CPS which they regard as being suitable for charge. Minimal changes were made to cases where guilty pleas are anticipated by the police.”

Reporting a burglary is a waste of time, one in 10 says

More than one in 10 people would not report a burglary, mugging or assault to police, a poll revealed as the public believe it would be a waste of time.

The proportion rose to as many as four in 10 for lower level crimes such as anti-social behaviour, with more than half of those saying it was because they did not believe police would solve it so was not worth reporting, according to the poll of 2,016 adults.

It comes as official data shows that police are solving the fewest crimes on record. Just six per cent of all crimes resulted in a charge in the year to September 2021, equivalent to only one in 17 offences being solved, according to Home Office figures.

Nearly half the public (48 per cent) said they had less confidence in the police than five years ago, when charging rates for all crimes stood at 15 per cent, nearly three times the level now. Just five per cent said they had more confidence, according to the poll by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus.

It coincides with a period when police lost more than 20,000 officers in cuts that are now being reversed with the recruitment of 50,000 more officers to replace the “net” loss of 20,000. It has meant police prioritised crime investigations with some minor offences effectively screened out.

Only eight per cent (one in 12) of the respondents thought it was “very” or “quite” likely that police would solve a burglary or assault. Thirty five per cent thought it was “possible” and 48 per cent thought it was “very” or “quite” unlikely.

While 85 per cent said they would report an assault or mugging – meaning as many as 15 per cent would not – and 87 per cent would report a burglary, just 55 per cent would report anti-social behaviour.

Of the 40 per cent who would not report some crimes, 59 per cent cited it as being a waste of time because police would not solve, 24 per cent because the crime was too minor and 18 per cent too much effort to report.

There were better ratings for the proportion of the public who felt the police treated them with respect (74 per cent), while they believed by a two to one majority that the police had the public’s best interests at heart.

Following scandals over sexism, racism and misconduct, there was, however, still a sizeable 17 per cent who felt police were “quite” or “very” corrupt and 11 per cent who thought they were incompetent.

Chris Holbrook, chief executive of Find Out Now, said the findings revealed a “growing lack of confidence” in the police, which polls suggested extended to other important public institutions as well.

However, Martin Baxter, chief executive of Electoral Calculus: “That the public remain mostly civic-minded themselves and have faith in the police’s good intentions, gives some indication that trust could be restored if improvements can be made.”