How likely will a burglar be caught in YOUR area?

2023-06-10

How likely will a burglar be caught in YOUR area? Map reveals how police are abandoning up to 70% of break-in investigations within one month after being unable to identify a suspect

Bedfordshire Police abandoned 70pc of burglary investigations in April 2023
Avon and Somerset, by comparison, stopped only 1 per cent of their probes

British police forces are abandoning up to 70 per cent of burglary investigations within a month, unless they have been able to identify a suspect, shocking new figures have shown.

The Home Office has released information on burglaries across the UK reported in April, along with their current investigative status.

MailOnline took that data and compiled it into a map, showing which police forces abandoned their investigations into burglaries the quickest.

According to Home Office data, seven out of ten burglary investigations from April in Bedfordshire have been abandoned because officers could not identify a suspect.

In Avon on Somerset, only one per cent of their burglary investigations had been abandoned over the same time period.

This comes as police chiefs have committed to attending every home burglary, following a campaign by the Daily Mail.

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Several police forces such as Greater Manchester, Devon and Cornwall, PSNI, Police Scotland, Sussex and Lincolnshire have not provided data. Some of this failure is due to the implementation of new IT systems. Their figures are expected as a later date.

The Home Office wants each force to record its crime data in a similar manner so it is easier to compare performance and provide an accurate overall picture.

Speaking this week, Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said in his area, the number of break-ins had fallen by 50 per cent over the past five years,

Mr Harrington said: ‘Investigating burglaries and supporting victims is a priority for us and we know the impact having your home broken into can have.

‘There will be a lot written and spoken today about attendance at burglaries. In Essex, we have had a presumption of attendance at burglaries in the home for some time.

‘I want to reassure the communities that you’re really unlikely to be a victim of burglary in Essex. The number of burglaries in Essex is down by about 50 per cent in the last five years. But if you do need us, call us; we will respond and help you.’

Police are attending every home burglary for the first time. The breakthrough, which follows a deal struck by chief constables, means offenders are being caught in the act and locked up within hours (stock photo)

Mr Harrington continued: ‘Although there have been 5,000 burglary reports in Essex in the last year, there are not thousands of burglars. A small amount of people will be responsible for a number of burglaries and by catching one person, we can solve quite a number of crimes. Crucially, that means when they’re in jail, they can’t re-offend.

‘We aren’t reactive, we’re proactive in catching burglars. We regularly review hotspots, linked offences or repeat victims and where we see repeat suspects or have known burglary offenders wanted for other matters, we pursue them.’

CLICK TO READ MORE: How police are failing victims of crime

CCTV shows three men in hoodies smashing the glass front of the cafe before going inside and grabbing the register

He added: ‘Most recently we have seen two men convicted for their parts in violent a break-in at the home of British cyclist Mark Cavendish, his wife Peta and their family.’

A third man has just been charged in connection with the investigation.

According to police, homeowners can take certain measures to help protect themselves from being targeted by burglars, including installing a good quality CCTV and alarm system.

They also advise fitting doors and windows with high quality locks – and securing their property even during hot weather as opportunist thieves are willing to jump through an open window.

In September all 43 chief constables agreed to prioritise the crime after the Mail exposed appalling prosecution rates which are below 2 per cent in some constabularies.

The historic commitment was seen as a landmark moment because chief constables had previously set their own goals, which differed between forces.

Although the agreement was signed last year, it has taken months for adequate resources to be put in place to fulfil the pledge. But today all 43 forces confirmed that officers visited 100 per cent of burgled homes.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said prosecution rates would soar because forces could no longer close cases shortly after receiving a 999 call.

Before the agreement, only 4.8 per cent of burglars were charged or cautioned, Office for National Statistics figures show.

Police failed to solve any break-ins in half of 30,100 communities across England and Wales over the past three years, the latest data shows. The Mail revealed that a shocking 774 burglaries went unsolved every day since 2018.

The number of criminals being prosecuted nationally has more than halved, with charges and summons to court plummeting by 56 per cent from 25,454 in 2017-18 to 11,271 in 2021-22.

But in areas where forces decided to attend all home burglaries, there has been a dramatic rise in convictions.

In the 12 months to February, Greater Manchester Police solved 69 per cent more residential break-ins than in the previous year and arrests on suspicion of burglary soared by 42 per cent.

As a result the force saw a drop in offences, with 688 fewer burglaries compared with the previous year.

Police are in talks with the Home Office about funding, with the cost of sending an officer to every scene yet to be worked out. Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured May 23) has said burglary is an ‘awful crime which must be tackled’ and she is ‘delighted’ police are committed to attending all burglaries

In Northamptonshire, the number of home break-ins has fallen by over 50 per cent since the force committed to sending an officer to every scene in 2019. This equates to 2,500 fewer victims a year.

Warwickshire has seen a reduction of 55 per cent since 2017/2018.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Burglary, Deputy Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith, predicted other forces would soon see similar rises in detections.

‘Forces that went earlier, they have seen an increase in people being locked up on suspicion of burglary, both the number of people being charged and receiving cautions,’ he said. ‘We know we are not going to detect every single burglary, but we are starting from a very low base so I would expect, and I would predict as the national policing lead, that we will start to see detection numbers increasing as a result.

‘I am pleased that all forces are now able to fulfil the commitment made last year by police chiefs to attend all residential burglaries. Although the fulfilment of this commitment is a milestone in itself, it is only the first step.

‘We want to be bringing more offenders to justice, we want to be gathering more evidence, and we want to be improving detection rates. We expect to be judged on the results the public see.’

Forces must report their compliance rates on burglary attendance to the Home Office, with the aim of establishing a national reporting mechanism.

Police failed to solve any break-ins in half of 30,100 communities across England and Wales over the past three years, the latest data shows (stock photo)

But there is no target set for response times and forces can decide whether to send out an officer immediately or several days later. Individual officers can also decide how long to spend at a property and what checks they carry out.

The Home Office has agreed to amend crime recording so that officers only have to attend homes broken into and not sheds or outbuildings, which were previously classified as domestic properties.

A devastating audit last August by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke urged forces to get ‘back to basics’ and stop letting down victims.

Police are in talks with the Home Office about funding, with the cost of sending an officer to every scene yet to be worked out. In the year to March 2022 there were 192,060 residential burglaries, which is more than 500 a day.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: ‘Burglary is an awful crime which must be tackled and that’s why I am delighted to see that police forces across England and Wales have fulfilled their commitment to attend all domestic burglaries. This will help increase public confidence and see more criminals caught.

‘I wrote to police chiefs last year to ensure this was being carried forward; and I will continue to support police forces as they crack down on this terrible crime.’

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, (pictured in 2021) of the College of Policing, said it was a ‘necessary and welcome step toward regaining and improving community trust by returning to the fundamentals of policing’

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, of the College of Policing, said it was a ‘necessary and welcome step toward regaining and improving community trust by returning to the fundamentals of policing’.

He added: ‘It will enable police officers to get more of the basics right and help lock up offenders. It will make forces more accountable within their own communities, bring more consistency to our responses to burglary.

‘Policing should be able to deliver more of what the public rightly expects of it.’

John Hayward-Cripps of Neighbourhood Watch said: ‘Our own research shows that burglary is the number one crime that people are concerned about so we welcome the decision to attend all residential burglaries.’

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