More than three-quarters of all burglaries in the Thames Valley go unsolved

More than three-quarters of burglaries went unsolved in the Thames Valley in the 2022/2023 financial year - an average of 16 a day, new analysis has revealed.

The figures, from official Home Office statistics, show that, between April 2022 and March 2023, a total of 5,895 burglaries in the Thames Valley were closed without a suspect being identified, accounting for 76% of all cases. Meanwhile, just 6% of Thames Valley burglaries resulted in a suspect being charged or summonsed.

The national figures paint a similarly dire picture. Across England and Wales, nearly 77% of all burglaries went unsolved in that same time period.

Reading’s Liberal Democrats have slammed the Government for these figures. Since 2015, the Conservatives have taken over 4,000 Police Community Support Officers off the streets. And as of last year, fewer than one in eight of officers across England and Wales were assigned to frontline neighbourhood policing teams.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are trusted and visible in their neighbourhoods, with the time and resources to focus on tackling local crimes like burglaries. The party is also calling for a new “Burglary Response Guarantee” under which all domestic burglaries would be attended by the police and properly investigated.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Reading Borough Council, Councillor James Moore, said: 

“Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in their own homes. But under this terrible Government, so many burglars are getting off scot-free. These figures will bring little comfort to the people of Reading.

“It’s a disgrace that our local communities are paying the price for the Conservative Government’s failures to get tough on burglaries.

“The Conservatives must finally bring back proper community policing and back the Liberal Democrats Burglary Response Guarantee so all burglaries are attended by the police. It’s the only way to reverse these shocking figures.”