Most burglaries committed in the West Midlands during the Christmas period go unsolved by the police, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
3630 burglaries in West Midlands Police area went unsolved by police in the period between October and December 2020.
The figures also reveal there is usually a spike in burglaries over the Christmas period in the area. In the last five years, police recorded an average of 386 domestic burglaries per week in October, November and December. This compares to an average of 328 burglaries a week during the rest of the year.
The period between Christmas and New Year can prove particularly fruitful for burglars, with homes full of new presents left empty as occupants visit family elsewhere. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to community policing to keep families safe and bring criminals committing burglaries to justice.
Izzy is a member of Birmingham East Police IAG. She will be making representations to the local Police Commander:
“Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own homes over the Christmas period, and know that if someone does break in they will be caught and punished. But with the vast majority of burglaries going unsolved, that’s simply not the case for far too many victims of crime. The collapse of neighbourhood policing has resulted in poorer investigations, little or no feedback to victims and a huge drop in intelligence available to officers to work on to detect and prevent crime.
“This Conservative government’s failure to tackle crime is letting victims down and letting criminals get away with it.
“Liberal Democrats are working hard to make our communities safe and help residents feel safe too. We need a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people.”
Moseley Liberal Democrats 