Some 900,000 burglaries unsolved in last four years - more than Leeds population
Nearly 900,000 burglaries have gone unsolved in the last four years according to a damning analysis of Home Office data.
It comes amid a gradual decline in the Tories’ reputation on law and order in recent years. The research shows that of 1.1million domestic burglary cases 889,756 were closed without a suspect being identified since 2019.
It means a staggering eight in 10 burglaries went unsolved. Just 53,594 incidents resulted in a suspect being charged - or 5% of all cases. Branding the figures “disgraceful”, the Liberal Democrats said the number of unsolved cases was more than the entire population of Leeds.
The party has blamed years of Tory cuts leaving local police forces “overstretched and unable to focus on frontline crime like burglaries”. They emphasised this includes taking more 4,500 Police Community Support Officers off the streets since 2015 and assigning just 12% of officers to neighbourhood policing teams. The party is now calling for a “Burglary Response Guarantee” - which would ensure all domestic burglaries would be attended by police and investigated.
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: "It is disgraceful to think that in just five years, the number of unsolved burglaries could fill an entire city. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home, but burglary victims are being catastrophically let down.
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“It is clear that the Conservatives are failing to get the basics right when it comes to solving crime. Enough is enough. The Home Secretary must implement our Burglary Response Guarantee - to ensure that every burglary is responded to, and to end this shameful burglar bailout.”
Crime will become a major battleground between all the parties during a general election year. Labour has also made tackling more crimes one of its priorities. The party has set up an expert commission tasked with drawing up reforms to solve more crime.
The Charging Commission will look at a range of issues, including improving the speed and quality of police response and charging decisions and ensuring that victims are being provided with sufficient support to avoid them dropping out. It is chaired by former Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird.
When it was launched, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It should be unthinkable for so many more crimes to face no consequences whatsoever, but that is the shameful reality after 13 Conservative years. This expert Commission will help us to deliver on our pledge to make Britain safer.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes including burglary, robbery and theft down 50% and violent crime down 52%, with more police officers in England and Wales than ever before."
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