Police didn’t turn up to 45000 burglaries last year as Tories fail victims
Police didn't turn up to 45,000 burglaries reported last year - around 120 a DAY - stark new figures show. The Tories were accused of letting victims down while criminals go unpunished after the damning data was obtained by the Lib Dems. The party found that there were 45,233 reported burglaries in 2022 where a police officer didn't visit the scene of the crime.
Figures from 19 forces showed 75% of burglary investigations were closed last year without a suspect being investigated. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called on Home Secretary Suella Braverman[1] to bring in a legal guarantee that domestic burglaries will be attended. He fumed: "Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own homes.
Suella Braverman victorious in Battle of Waterlooville against fellow Tory MP[2]
Home Secretary Suella Braverman faces calls to introduce a legal requirement for police to attend burglaries (Getty Images)
"But this Conservative government has left our police forces overstretched and under-resourced, meaning far too many victims are let down while criminals are getting away with it.
"No family should be denied justice after suffering the distress and trauma of being burgled. "At the very least, people should know that if they are burgled, the police will attend the scene and investigate properly." Officers in Bedfordshire failed to attend 60% of reported burglaries last year, the Lib Dems found.
Meanwhile in Surrey, Cambridgeshire and Northumbria also went to the scene in less than half of cases, the figures show. In October last year, all 43 chief constables in England and Wales vowed that police would attend all burglaries reported to their forces. It comes amid growing concerns over the number of cases being solved.
Between 2017 and 2022 just five per cent of the 1.76 million burglaries reported resulted in a charge, figures previously obtained by the Lib Dems reveal.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says victims are being let down (Sky News)
The party has called for the Government to adopt a Burglary Response Guarantee, creating a legal obligation to attend all domestic burglary reports. It wants to see this added to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is going through Parliament now. Following the release of the figures, a National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) spokesperson said: "We recognise how invasive and traumatic it is to have your home burgled.
We take all burglaries very seriously, offer support to families impacted by this awful crime and seek to bring offenders to justice as swiftly as possible. "In October 2022, police chiefs in England and Wales made a commitment to attend all home burglaries. Wherever you live in England and Wales, you can be confident the police will attend if you experience the invasion of a home burglary.
"The number of burglaries is at an all time-low, down more than 50 per cent over the past decade, and we will continue to prioritise preventing these offences, targeting repeat offenders and organised crime groups and solving as many burglaries as we can." A Home Office spokesperson said: "We welcome the recent figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales which show that burglary is down by 34% since December 2019. "The Home Secretary made clear to Police Chiefs that forces must attend all domestic burglaries.
We support the commitment from forces that they will deliver this pledge and expect them to implement it as soon as practically possible."