71% of all burglaries in Staffordshire go unsolved

The figures, from official Home Office statistics, show that in 2022/2023, a total of 3186 burglaries in Staffordshire were closed without a suspect being identified, accounting for 71% of all cases. Meanwhile, just 8% of Staffordshire 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.

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, just 12% 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.