900,000 burglaries have gone unsolved since 2019, more than the entire population of Leeds

21 Dec 2023

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

Nearly 900,000 burglaries have gone unsolved since 2019, new Liberal Democrat analysis of Home Office statistics has revealed.

The Liberal Democrats said it was “disgraceful” that the number of unsolved burglaries could fill an entire city.

Their research shows that 889,756 domestic burglary cases have been closed without a suspect being identified - more than the entire population of Leeds.

Over 1.1 million domestic burglary cases were recorded in that time period, meaning a staggering eight in ten burglaries went unsolved. Meanwhile, only 53,594 domestic burglaries resulted in a suspect being charged since 2019 - making up just 5% of all cases.

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for these figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched and unable to focus on frontline crime like burglaries. This includes taking over 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015, and assigning just 12% of officers to neighbourhood policing teams.

The party is calling for a new “Burglary Response Guarantee,” under which all domestic burglaries would be attended by the police and properly investigated. This would be accompanied by a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on tackling neighbourhood crime.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own home. It is disgraceful to think that in just five years, the number of unsolved burglaries could fill an entire city.

“No matter which way you cut these figures, 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.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Full data is available here, based on Home Office, Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables.

Leeds’ population stands at 812,000, according to the 2021 Census.

Data on PCSO cuts can be found here, based on Home Office, Police Workforce: England and Wales, Table H7(various editions).

Data on neighbourhood policing team size can be found here, based on Home Office, Police workforce England and Wales statistics.

Liberal Democrats are calling for a new statutory guarantee that all burglaries must be attended by police and properly investigated.

To implement this guarantee, Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to:

Return to proper community policing, where officers have the time and resources they need to focus on preventing and solving crime;
Urgently draw up a strategy to tackle the shortage of detectives; and
Set up a new national Online Crime Agency, to better protect people from online crime while freeing up local forces’ time to tackle burglars.