Police failed to attend over 60% of burglaries last year

Almost 1,000 burglaries went unattended in Bedfordshire last year, stark figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, in a Freedom of Information request to Bedfordshire Police, have shown. Of the 1,620 burglaries reported, police only arrived at the scene in 627 instances - accounting for just 38.7% of cases. This places Bedfordshire Police Force 19th out of 19 police forces that responded to the FOI for arrival rate in 2022.

The number of unsolved burglaries in Bedford also makes for grim reading, with 1,246 cases being closed without a suspect even identified. This is equivalent to 76.91% of all cases.

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. Another 14 forces refused to provide the figures.

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. Earlier this year it was reported that Police Community Support Officers in Bedfordshire had been cut by 55% since 2016.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Police and Crime Councillor Tim Caswell said "It is shocking that so many burglaries in our community are not being attended by a police officer. No family should be denied justice after suffering the distress and trauma of being burgled.

"Many families will be concerned 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 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."