'Disgraceful': Cops blasted after dropping more than 1 million unsolved burglaries and thefts
28 December 2022, 09:26 | Updated: 28 December 2022, 10:54
Detectives have been criticised for stopping investigating more than a million burglaries and thefts in the last year.
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Figures show 1,145,254 cases were dropped across England and Wales after police failed to find a suspect.
They made up the bulk of the two million cases police gave up on, including more than 300,000 violent crimes.
And the proportion of crimes that end up with a person being arrested and charged is down to 5.4% - down from more than 15% seven years ago.
Publishing the figures, Labour branded them a “disgrace”.
Outraged caller details lack of police action after forced entry into his home
Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “Our constituents are complaining endlessly that nobody turns up to deal with burglaries – they just say here’s your crime number, claim your insurance.
“The problem is that the leadership of the police have succumbed to politically correct bullying on this to the extent that the last thing on their priority list seems to be dealing with crime.
“We all want the police to succeed, but they are overstretched because they are increasingly having to take on jobs that social services should be doing.
“The police service should be the police force and should be there to enforce the law. People want them to investigate crime.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “This is disgraceful. Theft and burglary are awful crimes and should be properly investigated, not just left for the victims to make an insurance claim.
“The Home Secretary has no plan to turn this around and is instead obsessed with gimmicks rather than a serious plan to catch more criminals.”
Caller doesn't feel the police understand 'the confidence you lose' after a burglary.
Police chiefs in England and Wales committed their forces to attending all home burglaries after concerns about the public perception of how cops approach the crime.
While some forces already had the policy in place, others would only go if it was clear there was a line of enquiry of if the victims were elderly or vulnerable.
Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said in October that more visits should see more of the burglaries get solved and crooks hauled before judges.
A Home Office spokesman said: “As the Home Secretary has made clear, we welcome the commitment for police attendance at home burglaries.
"We continue to support the police, including through record investment and the recruitment of 20,000 additional officers by March 2023.”
