A study of Home Office Statistics has revealed that out of the 240,000 burglaries that took place in 2021, 190,000 were officially closed with no suspect ever identified. As a result, 79 per cent of such cases went unsolved, which breaks down to 523 break-ins per day.
The analysis found that the worst-performing forces were those operating in the West Midlands and Hampshire, along with the Metropolitan Police in London. Accounting for 80 per cent of unsolved crimes where a perpetrator was never caught.
Based on the recent data, Home Affairs Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat party, Alistair Carmichael, has now accused the present Conservative Government of being too soft on criminals and making no real effort to identify or catch burglars. The party called for Boris Johnson’s administration to reinstate former standards of community policing. It accused the Government of taking British citizens for granted and as a result, making local communities less safe. It believes that having police officers who are trusted, clearly visible and focused on reducing crime is the answer.
Former Police heads have spoken out to the press, commenting that the current situation is a disgrace. They added that in the past, burglaries were given more attention with officers attending the scene of the crime to take fingerprints, carrying out inquiries house-to-house and examining CCTV but that break-ins are no longer considered a priority. They feel that the criminal justice bill is in many ways now classifying break-ins as low-level offences.
Current procedures dictate that where there is no forensic or CCTV evidence, a case is often shut within mere hours of being officially opened. As a result, many victims of burglaries are not receiving justice for the crimes against them.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) commented that aiding the prevention of, and effectively responding to burglary incidents were a police priority and that it acknowledged that burglary was a crime that had a long-lasting and significant impact on the victim. It added, however, that police forces prioritise criminal cases that have a realistic chance of resulting in a prosecution.
In reaction to the recent statistics, the Government has now vowed to hire an additional 20,000 police officers and has urged individual forces across the UK to ensure that at least one police officer attends the scene of each burglary in the area they are responsible for.
