Police fail to solve burglary in half of neighbourhoods in last three years, as offence effectively 'decriminalised'

5 June 2023, 16:24

Police have not solved a single burglary in nearly half the neighbourhoods in England and Wales in the past three years, analysis shows.

In just over 48% of 30,100 neighbourhoods, no burglaries were solved in the three years ending in March 2023, the Telegraph reported.

The shocking figure prompted a warning that the consequences for breaking into and robbing someone's home have effectively disappeared in much of the country.

Rick Muir, director at the Police Foundation, Britain’s independent police think tank, said: "It is fair to say that in some parts of the country, there are some crime types – in this case, burglary – that have become decriminalised because there is absolutely no consequence to committing the crime."

A neighbourhood is classified as containing about 1,500 people or 650 households. Some 14,505 of 30,100 had no burglaries solved over the three years. Out of those, 7,776 had ten or more unsolved burglaries.

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In each of the three worst neighbourhoods in Hampshire, south Yorkshire and south-east London, over 80 burglaries remained unsolved over the three-year period.

Lyndhurst and Minstead in the New Forest had 84, Balby Carr in Doncaster had 83, and Greenwich Town and Park in London had 82,

Meanwhile national charging rates for burglary have plummeted to 3.9% in 2022 from 6.7% in 2016.

One victim of burglary in Doncaster said he couldn't get police to come out even as robbers were threatening him and his son with the crowbars they had used to break in.

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Rodney Broad said: "I rang 999 but was told to ring 101 since they had left the premises."

The cigarettes the burglars took - worth £10,000 - were recovered, but the criminals caused £2,500 of damage and were never caught.

Mr Broad added: “It took 40 minutes to get through on the 101 number and the police did not turn up for more than an hour.

"Thirty hours later I had still heard nothing back from them despite ringing three times. If they turned up when they should have done they would have caught them. I am grossly disappointed. They are just shocking. I would rate their response as one out of ten.

"When you dial 999 you expect an immediate response - especially when they are still on site threatening us with the crowbars they had used to jemmy open the cigarette cases. They never contacted us once. There were no updates. I have absolutely no confidence in the police.

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"I would think twice about ringing 999 because it falls on deaf ears and you might as well take the law into your own hands because the police will not help you one iota."

Deputy Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for burglary, defended the police's record, noting that the number of burglaries was at an all-time low.

He added: "We will continue to prioritise preventing these offences, targeting repeat offenders and organised crime groups and solving as many burglaries as we can."

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"All forces are now able to fulfil the commitment made last year by police chiefs to attend all residential burglaries. Many forces have dedicated burglary teams to identify links between burglaries and find the evidence that enables offenders to be charged."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Secretary has already made clear to police chiefs that forces should attend all domestic burglaries and expects them to deliver on their pledge to do this, backed by an additional 20,000 police officers."