New Home Office statistics have revealed that a shocking 81% of burglaries went unsolved across London in the year ending June 2023. This is equivalent to 141 burglaries going unsolved across the capital every single day. Meanwhile, only 5.2% of cases resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.
London Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for these figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local forces overstretched and unable to focus on crimes like burglaries. They have also criticised the Labour’s Sadiq Khan for failing to prioritise a return to community policing during his two terms as Mayor of London. This includes a 32 per cent cut to Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in London since 2015 and a 16.5 per cent cut to the number of officers assigned 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. This would be accompanied by a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on tackling neighbourhood crime.
Commenting, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“People in the capital deserve 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 London to feel that confidence, thanks to these shocking figures.
“This Conservative Government has repeatedly failed to invest in tackling crime in London and across the country.
“Meanwhile Labour’s Sadiq Khan has held responsibility over the Met since 2016, yet has failed to restore community policing to our streets.
“People across London 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.”