Police will attend EVERY burglary, agree all 43 chief constables

2022-10-04

Police will attend EVERY burglary: All 43 chief constables in England and Wales sign landmark agreement to attend housebreaking reports no matter where or what has been stolen

Police forces in England and Wales vow to send an officer to every burgled home
All 43 chief constables have signed up the the agreement, hailed as a landmark
The head of the Police Chiefs’ Council says it should help more cases reach court

Police chiefs have agreed for the first time to send an officer to every burgled home.

The historic move commits them always to make a visit, regardless of the location and what has been stolen.

Signed by all 43 chief constables in England and Wales, the landmark deal comes a day after it emerged that an average of 774 burglaries go unsolved every day.

Martin Hewitt of the National Police Chiefs’ Council says more cases should now reach court – the prosecution rate is as low as 1.7 per cent in some areas.

‘Wherever you live in England and Wales you can be confident the police will attend if you experience the invasion of a home burglary,’ he adds.

‘This should see more burglaries being solved and more offenders prosecuted.’ Writing in tomorrow’s Daily Mail, Mr Hewitt declares: ‘We want to give people the peace of mind of knowing if you experience that invasion, the police will come, find all possible evidence and make every effort to catch those responsible.

‘That’s a critical part of the contract between the police and public.’

The historic commitment is being seen as a watershed moment for policing because forces had been setting their own priorities, which can differ wildly around the country.

Each home burglary will be attended by a police officer, all 43 chief constables of England and Wales have said in a landmark agreement

The number of criminals being prosecuted has more than halved and the number found guilty is even lower – just 7,887 burglars were convicted last year

Today the Mail revealed that 1.76million burglaries were reported across England and Wales over the past five years – but 1.41million of the cases were closed without a suspect being identified.

The number of criminals being prosecuted has more than halved and the number found guilty is even lower – just 7,887 burglars were convicted last year. Until recently police chiefs had insisted there was no evidence that having an officer attend resulted in more offenders being caught.

THREE IN FOUR WANT OFFICERS TO VISIT VICTIMS

Three quarters of Britons believe that police should visit burglary victims, according to a Daily Mail poll.

It also found that 96 per cent of over-55s think crime is not taken seriously enough by forces. The research, which was carried out by Churchill home insurance, shows how home break-ins can shatter lives.

‘Home break ins can shatter lives’

As many as 97 per cent of victims say a raid has an affect on their everyday activities, with 37 per cent saying it has a huge impact. More than a third of those targeted said they felt violated by the experience.

A quarter were left feeling scared or reported having trouble sleeping.

More than one in six felt depressed and 16 per cent suffered anxiety or panic attacks. In the worst cases – 6 per cent of the total – the victims needed to see a doctor, counsellor, or therapist. The poll found 63 per cent feared the cost of living crisis would make burglaries more likely.

Sarah Khan, head of Churchill home insurance, said: ‘The psychological scars of the victims of burglary are often overlooked.

‘Burglars who violate people’s homes can leave people with significant emotional trauma for many years.’

But a new ‘rapid evidence assessment’ by the College of Policing overturned the established thinking. The report presented at a meeting of police chiefs on September 30 concluded that visiting crime scenes could provide investigative opportunities to solve the case, reassure victims and prevent future offences.

It followed a devastating audit in August by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke which revealed victims were being let down and called for officers to attend every domestic raid.

Yesterday Mr Cooke said: ‘Back in August we published a report which said the police response to burglary must improve. Burglary is an invasive crime that strikes at the heart of how safe we feel in our homes. Yet too many victims may not see a single officer – as I have said previously, that can’t be right.

‘Today’s announcement shows that police leaders have started to act on our findings. This is a positive step for – wards in solving more burglaries and making sure victims get the service they deserve.’

Mr Hewitt pointed out that the number of burglaries was at an all-time low – ‘down 51 per cent over the past decade due to increased investment by police and partners in preventing them happening’.

According to the NPCC, chief constables will work to ensure the new commitment is implemented as soon as practically possible.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, chief executive of the College of Policing: ‘Officers across the country want to be locking up criminals and keeping communities safe. Our standards will help bring consistency to the police’s response, enable them to get the basics right and deliver what the public expect.’

Police chiefs will now ask Home Secretary Suella Braverman for extra cash to ‘focus more resources’ on burglaries.

Former victims’ commissioner Vera Baird said: ‘This is a big step forward for victims and for restoring public confidence in the police. They need quick reassurance that police care about their safety and there still is effective law and order when their personal security has been violated.’

A key step in building trust in the police

Commentary by Martin Hewitt, Chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council

Last week chief constables from across the country met. Reducing crime and building public confidence were top of our agenda.

At that meeting we took an important collective decision – to attend all home burglaries. Some forces already do this. Others attend where it has been established there are evidential lines of enquiry or where victims are vulnerable or elderly.

Some police chiefs have struggled to achieve attendance at all burglaries with limited resources and balancing an increase in complex and highly harmful crimes. But burglary is invasive and can be deeply traumatic.

Martin Hewitt, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)

We want to give people the peace of mind of knowing if you experience that invasion, the police will come, find all possible evidence and make every effort to catch those responsible. That’s a critical part of the contract between the police and public.

We’re also asking for the Home Secretary’s help so police chiefs can focus more resources on solving crime and raising confidence. Firstly, we’re asking government to seriously take on the vast widening of the policing mission. We want to focus more on solving crime. The public want the same. And so do politicians.

But a National Audit Office report in 2018 showed that 64 per cent of emergency calls to the police were not about crime. Some are entirely legitimate police activity, but a substantial proportion see police stepping in to health and social work because of an absence of other services.

We have been discussing this for years and there has been no meaningful change – there needs to be for us to improve crime rates. Secondly, we want to see a review of crime recording processes. Complying with the process is an industry in policing that takes officers away from neighbourhood policing and the subsequent statistics present a misleading picture to the public about the reality of crime. Right now, for crime recording purposes a bur – glary of someone’s family home is treated the same as the loss of a spade from a shed. There must be a better way.

Thirdly, we want to work across the policing system and with government to agree the core police services that should be delivered to a consistent standard across the country – with evidence and public priorities at the heart of our decision-making. We don’t currently have this shared view of our core services and as a result priorities can change with the wind. With it, we can hold fast to an agreed mission the public can understand and support.

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