Monday 3 October 2022 10:48 PM How almost 800 burglaries go unsolved every day trends now

The shocking extent of police failures on burglary can be laid bare today with just 1.7 per cent of break-ins leading to charges in some areas.

Over the past five years, an average of 774 burglaries have gone unsolved every day across England and Wales.

And over that time the number of offenders facing justice has fallen by 56 per cent. There were 25,454 charges and summons in 2017-18 but just 11,271 in the 12 months to March.

Forces logged 1.76million burglaries from 2017 to 2022 but only 5 per cent of those resulted in criminal charges or a court summons. It means that for 1.41million victims, their case was closed without a suspect being identified.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has now written to police chiefs urging them to send an officer to every domestic burglary because in some force areas just one in four raids are attended.

Official data unearthed by the Liberal Democrats shows that the average charging rate for domestic burglaries was just 3.5 per cent in the year to March.

The figure for the West Mercia and Hampshire forces was just 1.7 per cent. Wiltshire Police charged just 28 suspects over the whole year, despite logging 1,103 domestic burglaries.

Similarly, just 31 of the 1,307 raids reported to North Yorkshire Police resulted in charges. The highest prosecution rate was in South Wales, when 7.6 per cent of reports ended in court action.

Andy Cooke, the chief inspector of constabulary, is calling for a ‘back to basics’ approach to burglary.

In August a devastating HMIC audit revealed that the vast majority of victims were being let down because forces were missing opportunities to catch suspects from the moment crimes were reported. In many areas, call handlers were failing to provide advice to homeowners to preserve evidence and there were not enough adequately trained officers to handle cases which were then farmed out to inexperienced rookies.

Some forces were taking as long as six months to return fingerprint identifications, which ruled out prosecutions in magistrates’ courts under statutory time limits.

Mr Cooke, who is the former chief constable of Merseyside, said: ‘Burglary is a crime that strikes at the heart of how safe we feel in our homes. We know the police are overstretched – but too often, they are not bringing offenders to justice, nor giving victims the service they deserve. The police response to burglary, robbery and theft needs to improve. There’s a postcode lottery: depending on where a burglary takes place, victims may receive a vastly different response. But across the board, victims are not getting the service they deserve – nor the justice they seek.’

Former victims’ commissioner Vera Baird said: ‘People need to feel safe in their own homes. What are the police for if they can’t tackle burglary? These figures featured by the Mail are shocking.

‘Burglary hits at the heart of personal safety, security and family, it can fracture wellbeing. Frankly, it can terrify.

‘Many victims do not recover from the fear that if they go out that someone will enter and rifle everything they own all over again.

‘Police must attend every domestic burglary to investigate, restore some sense of safety and treat with respect the victims whose lives have been abused by burglary.’

Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: ‘Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own homes, and know that if someone does break in they will be caught and punished. But with the vast majority of burglaries going unsolved and charging rates pathetically low, that’s simply not the reality for people today.

‘This Conservative Government is letting down victims and allowing criminals to get away with it. Having suffered the distress and trauma of being burgled, families are being left without the closure they need and the justice they deserve.

‘At the very least, people should be able to expect that if they are burgled, the police will attend the scene and investigate properly. The Government must make that possible by giving police the officers, time and resources that they need.’ The constabulary inspectorate’s report highlighted the devastation caused by repeat offenders, who cause £18billion of economic and social losses each year. More than half of this is the result of theft. Around 30 per cent of burglary victims have had their homes ransacked before and College of Policing analysis suggests properties within 400 metres of one raided are more likely to be targeted in the following six weeks.

Mr Cooke’s report argued that the costs of prioritising burglary for a force would be balanced by the benefits. He cited South Yorkshire Police’s calculation that the cost of a single burglary to the force was £530 – only a little less than the cost of police intervention in a crime hotspot. This means that the latter tactic could pay off handsomely.

Prevention tactics have led to burglary levels overall falling by 51 per cent in the past decade, but some chief constables accept that they should be doing more.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley kicked off his tenure last month by committing to send an officer to every domestic raid.

Mrs Braverman has told police chiefs to step up their response: ‘To put it simply, the public want to know that an officer will visit them after a crime such as burglary.

‘They want to feel safe in their cities, towns and villages. This is not just about doing your day job well, it is also about victims needing to feel supported and not

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