Police in England and Wales pledge to attend every home burglary
Police chiefs in England and Wales have pledged to send an officer to every single burgled home.
The pledge commits forces to sending an officer to investigate every report of home burglary, regardless of location and what has been stolen.
All 43 forces agreed to the commitment at last week’s meeting of the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Its chairman Martin Hewitt said the move was aimed at giving people “peace of mind”.
The pledge follows a report from the police watchdog in August which found most victims of burglary, theft and robbery in England and Wales were not being given the justice they deserve.
The findings from His Majesty’s Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) showed while some forces tackle these crimes well, many do not.
In the year to March, Home Office figures showed just 6.3% of robbery offences and 4.1% of thefts in England and Wales resulted in charges, while recent figures found police attendance at burglaries in London had fallen to 50%.
Mr Hewitt said some forces had struggled to attend all burglaries because of “limited resources”.
“We want to give people the peace of mind of knowing if you experience that invasion, the police will come, find all possible evidence and make every effort to catch those responsible,” Mr Hewitt wrote.
“That’s a critical part of the contract between the police and public.”
Mr Hewitt added that burglary was “invasive” and could be “deeply traumatic” for victims.
What will be the impact?
By Daniel Sandford, BBC home affairs correspondent
The pressure has been building on forces to improve their response to burglary for several months now.
In August the police inspectorate HMICFRS produced a devastating report.
It said opportunities were being missed to catch burglars and to protect repeat victims, because forces were not sending an officer to every burglary.
Then last month the new Home Secretary Suella Braverman wrote to every force in England and Wales saying the public wanted police to visit after crimes as intrusive as burglaries.
Greater Manchester Police, which adopted the policy last year, says arrests and detections are up. But it is probably too soon to know if this is having a long-term effect on the number of burglaries.
There is also a resourcing issue. When police forces that are currently not attending every burglary adapt their policy to abide by this new rule, what will they stop doing to free up the resources?
Source: (BBC News)