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.
Some 45,233 reported burglaries in 2022 did not result in a police callout, according to figures provided by the 19 forces which did respond to the FOI request. Fourteen forces refused to provide the data, according to the party.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own homes. But this Conservative Government has left our police forces overstretched and under-resourced, meaning far too many victims are let down while criminals are getting away with it.
“No family should be denied justice after suffering the distress and trauma of being burgled. At the very least, people should know that if they are burgled, the police will attend the scene and investigate properly. It’s clear that words aren’t enough. People are sick of broken Conservative Party promises – which is why the Home Secretary must introduce a statutory guarantee for burglary victims without delay.”
The figures also suggest what the party describes as a “postcode lottery”, with Bedfordshire, where officers failed to visit the scene of more than 60% of reported burglaries, the worst-performing area.
Some of the areas with the fewest cases solved were also those with the most burglaries going unattended, according to the data. Cambridgeshire Police saw just 47% of reported burglaries attended by police, while eight in 10 burglaries were unsolved. Similarly, officers from Surrey Police visited the scene of just 49% of burglaries while, again, eight in 10 cases went unsolved.
The Liberal Democrats have said a return of neighbourhood policing is needed following the removal of more than 4,000 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) from the streets. If the Home Secretary does not bring forward the “guarantee” in legislation, the party has said it will seek to add it to the Victims and Prisoners Bill making its way through parliament.
The demands are the latest criticism of the Conservative Party’s record on crime as parties ramp up commitments to law and order ahead of polling day next month. Labour has accused the Government of failing to fix community policing – and pledged to put 13,000 officers on the beat to help curb rising levels of vandalism and “high street crime”.
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Sir Keir Starmer echoed former prime minister Sir Tony Blair’s “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime” rhetoric during a visit to East Lancashire on Tuesday (April 4). Sir Keir said his party was “very much the party of law and order” as it understands “the impact that crime has on the lives of so many people across the country”.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced a raft of measures to crack down on antisocial behaviour, including a laughing gas ban, trials of swifter justice measures and increased policing in areas of England and Wales deemed to have high amounts of low-level crime.
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