Unsolved burglaries soar by 10% to over 570 a day

27 Apr 2023

New analysis from the Liberal Democrats of Home Office statistics released yesterday has revealed that a staggering 209,424 burglaries went unsolved across England and Wales in 2022 – an average of 574 a day.

This represents a 10% rise compared to 2021, as the number of burglaries increases after lockdown.

The analysis shows 77% of all burglary cases closed by police forces in England and Wales in 2022 went unsolved and just 6% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged.

Hampshire Police Force recorded the worst outcomes, with 84.4% of cases going unsolved in 2022. There, just 323 cases resulted in a charge or summons. Similarly, Hertfordshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire and the Met all saw 8 in 10 burglaries going unsolved.

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Government for these figures, arguing that years of unnecessary Conservatives cuts and putting resources in the wrong places has decimated community policing.

Since 2015, the Conservatives have also taken over 4,000 Police Community Support Officers off the streets.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new “Burglary Response Guarantee,” under which all domestic burglaries would be attended by the police and properly investigated. The Home Secretary can bring forward legislation to do this, but if she doesn’t, Liberal Democrats will seek to add this to the Victims and Prisoners Bill, which is heading through Parliament right now.

The party is also calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible and trusted, with the time to focus on neighbourhood crimes like burglaries.

Commenting on the figures, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

“As thousands of burglars get off scot-free, our communities are being failed and victims are being let down. The buck stops with Conservative Ministers.

“It’s just further proof that neighbourhood policing has been decimated under this Conservative Government - and it’s people across the country who are paying the price. No amount of warm words from the Home Secretary will help these forgotten victims.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for a Burglary Response Guarantee now, to finally bring an end to the burglar bailouts.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Full data, broken down by police force, available here. Data taken from Home Office, Police recorded crime open data Police Force Area tables from year ending March 2013 onwards.

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.