Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats say “communities are paying the price” after new Home Office statistics show that 2,845 burglaries went unsolved across Cambridgeshire in the year ending June 2023. "This is equivalent to nearly 8 burglaries going unsolved in Cambridgeshire every single day,” said a Lib Dem spokesperson.
“Meanwhile, just 275 cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed in the same time period – accounting for 7.7% of all burglaries in Cambridgeshire.”
Lib Dems say the national figures paint “a similarly dire picture. 76% of all burglaries across England and Wales went unsolved in the year ending June 2023, while just 6% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed”.
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats claim the Conservative Government must take responsibility for the figures, arguing that “years of ineffective resourcing have left local forces overstretched and unable to focus on crimes like burglaries.
“This includes taking over 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015, and assigning just 12% of officers to neighbourhood policing teams”.
The party is calling for a new “Burglary Response Guarantee,” under which all domestic burglaries would be attended by the police and properly investigated.
On October 23, C6 Bikes of Cambridge woke to find themselves burgled. Over £200,000 of bikes were stolen from their Cambridge store. “We’ve been completely cleaned out,” the company said. “They’ve managed to cut a hole in the wall and rip out the alarm system. Every single stock bike is gone along with a load of parts and accessories.”
They want this to be accompanied by a return to” proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on tackling neighbourhood crime”.
Ian Sollom, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire said: “Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes and confident that if they are burgled, the criminal will swiftly face justice.
“It’s hard for people in Cambridgeshire to feel that confidence, thanks to these shocking figures.
“Yet again, this Conservative Government are failing to even get the basics right on cutting crime. It’s a shame that our communities are paying the price.
“People in Cambridgeshire deserve better – which is why the Liberal Democrats will keep fighting to restore proper community policing and implement our Burglary Response Guarantee. It’s the only way to bring an end to this shameful burglar bailout.”
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have offered links to support their claims.
Full data, broken down by police force, is available here. Source: Home Office, Crime outcomes year to June 2023: data tables.
Data on PCSO cuts can be found here, based on Home Office, Police Workforce: England and Wales, Table H7 (various editions).
Data on neighbourhood policing team size can be found here, based on Home Office, Police workforce England and Wales statistics.
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.
