92% of burglary cases go unsolved in some areas as Lib Dems call for police response guarantee

2 Jun 2024

EMBARGO: 22.30 Monday 27th May

Ed Davey warns “too many families now feel unsafe in their own homes” as new figures show some areas see over nine in ten burglary cases go unsolved
Liberal Democrats will call for Burglary Response Guarantee in manifesto to ensure all domestic burglaries are attended by a police officer
At least 85% of burglary cases went unsolved in Michael Gove’s local area of Surrey Heath and Jeremy Hunt’s in Waverley

The Liberal Democrats will today (28th May) announce their plans for a Burglary Response Guarantee, as new data uncovered by the party reveals the shocking scale of unsolved burglaries in local areas across England and Wales.

The figures were compiled from a series of Freedom of Information requests by the party, which for the first time have broken down unsolved burglaries data by local area. 33 of 43 police forces across England and Wales provided full responses with data provided for 329 local areas.

Official government figures show that nearly 76% of burglaries went unsolved in 2023. However, the new Liberal Democrat figures expose a disturbing postcode lottery, with some local areas seeing even worse outcomes than the national average. Elmbridge - home to Dominic Raab’s constituency of Esher and Walton - had the worst record in the country, with a staggering 92% of burglaries going unsolved in 2023. 91% of burglaries went unsolved in South Cambridgeshire, while 90% of cases went unsolved in Runnymede in Surrey.

Others in the top ten worst areas for solving burglaries include Michael Gove’s local council of Surrey Heath (85% unsolved) and the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s local council of Waverley (88%). Meanwhile, just 4% of burglaries went unsolved in Northwich, Cheshire, the best record in the country.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today announce his plans to include a Burglary Response Guarantee in his party’s manifesto, on a campaign visit to the North West. The party’s proposals would ensure that all domestic burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated. It comes after previous FOI research by the party found that 20% of domestic burglaries are still going unattended, despite the Conservative government’s claim that police are meeting their commitment to attend every home burglary.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“Too many families now feel unsafe in their own homes because this Conservative Government has decimated frontline policing for too long.

“Victims are being denied justice because Conservative ministers can’t even get the basics right on solving crime. That is why the Liberal Democrats would deliver a Burglary Response Guarantee, to ensure all home burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated.

“People are sick of seeing their local communities plagued by crime and just want this appalling Conservative government to be kicked out of office. In so many parts of the country, we have shown that it is the Liberal Democrats who can beat the Conservatives and deliver the change that the country is crying out for.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The data was uncovered in a FOI request to all police forces in England and Wales. Their responses, which can be accessed here, provided the following data:

How many burglary cases were recorded, broken down by Local Policing Area, in the following calendar years: 2023, 2022 and 2021.
How many of those cases were closed without a suspect being identified, also broken down by Local Policing Area, in the following calendar years: 2023, 2022 and 2021.

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

To implement this guarantee, we 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.

Then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that police chiefs were “fulfill[ing]” their pledge to attend every home burglary in June 2023. More details can be found here. However, a previous Liberal Democrat FOI revealed that 20% of domestic burglaries still went unattended in 2023.

An HMICFRS report from last year said that most burglary victims “aren’t getting the justice they deserve”.

Top 10 Local Policing Areas with Highest Proportion of Unsolved Burglaries, 2023