71% of burglaries unsolved in Derbyshire

71% of burglaries unsolved in Derbyshire

1271 burglaries in Derbyshire were unsolved in the first three quarters of 2022, shocking figures show.

Of the 1790 burglaries reported in that time period, only 58 resulted in a charge or summons. And 1271 investigations were closed without even identifying a suspect - meaning over 71% of burglaries went unsolved.

The Liberal Democrats have also uncovered shocking figures on police attendance of burglaries. Nationally, almost four in ten burglaries in the country did not result in a visit to the scene by a police officer. The figures were based on data provided by 19 police forces in England. Derbyshire police force did not provide the data.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new "Burglary Response Guarantee," which would create a guarantee that all domestic burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated.

This will require a return to proper community policing - where officers are visible, trusted, and have the time and resources needed to focus on solving crime.

Since 2015, the Conservatives have taken over 4,000 Police Community Support Officers off the streets, while they look set to have broken their key promise of having recruited an extra 20,000 police officers by the end of March 2023.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Derby, Ajit Atwal said:

"It is shocking that so many burglaries in our community are going unsolved by the police. No family should be denied justice after suffering the distress and trauma of being burgled.

"Many families across Derby and Derbyshire now feel unsafe in their own homes, because this Conservative government has left our police forces overstretched and under-resourced. It means far too many victims are being denied justice and far too many criminals are getting away with it.

"The Liberal Democrats would ensure that if people are burgled, they know the police will attend the scene and investigate properly. More and more people across Derby are turning to the Liberal Democrats, because they know we work hard for our communities, we hear your concerns, and we never take you for granted."

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Notes :

Full data on police attendance available here. Of the 19 police forces that responded to the FOI, a total of 119,190 burglaries were reported in 2022. Policy only arrived at the scene for 73,957 of these, accounting for 62% of cases. 89,337 cases were closed without a suspect being identified - equivalent to 75% of all cases.

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.

An HMICFRS report from last year said that most burglary victims "aren't getting the justice they deserve".