More than 45,000 burglaries reported last year went unattended by the police in England according to research, with critics blaming “broken Conservative Party promises” on law and order.
The Liberal Democrats obtained data through Freedom of Information requests which it says show an equivalent of more than 120 break-ins a day occurred without an officer visiting the scene. Some 75% of reported burglaries were then closed without a suspect being identified, according to figures provided by 19 forces across the country.
Each main party has put crime-fighting plans at the heart of their campaigns to snap up votes in May’s local elections, but Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey blamed the figures on “broken Conservative Party promises”. On Thursday, he called for a “statutory guarantee” to ensure burglary victims are visited by a police officer and their cases properly investigated in light of the research.
