POLICE are failing to probe burglaries — and rarely nab crooks if they do, a watchdog says.
Many forces have stopped investigating any £50-or-less crimes or those when there is no clear CCTV of culprits.
Police are failing to probe burglaries — and rarely nab crooks if they do, a watchdog says[/caption]
And the likelihood of having a raid properly looked into depends on your address, says Andy Cooke, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary.
Ex-Merseyside top cop Mr Cooke said forces must “recognise the harm” burglaries cause.
He said: “If I was burgled I would fully expect to see a police officer there.”
He warned of a loss of public trust unless crimes that “strike at the heart” of communities are not dealt with effectively.
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The report looked into 420 offences — burglary, robbery, theft and other acquisitive crime — investigated in England and Wales.
Just over one in 25 — 4.2 per cent — resulted in charges, a dramatic decrease in recent years dubbed “unacceptable and unsustainable” by Mr Cooke.
In three in four cases, victims got no advice on crime-scene preservation in their initial call.
Many cases were “investigated poorly” because of a lack of experienced officers.
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Some forces, including West Yorks and Durham, were praised. None were singled out for criticism.
Mr Cook said: “Some victims are more likely than others to get a thorough investigation from their force. This postcode lottery can’t be justified.”
