Medway Liberal Democrats demand "Burglary Response Guarantee" as 73% of cases go unsolved in Kent and Medway

New analysis from the Liberal Democrats has revealed that a staggering 4,502 burglaries went unsolved across Kent and Medway in the year ending September 2023.This means that on average, a whopping 12 burglaries in Kent and Medway went unsolved every single day.

Meanwhile, only 388 resulted in a suspect being charged - equivalent to just 6% of cases.Medway Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for these alarming figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched and unable to focus on frontline crime like burglaries.

This includes taking 281 Police community support officers (PCSOs) off the streets in Kent since 2015 - a 80% decrease.

This means that as of September 2023, there are only 71 PCSOs on the streets of Kent.

The Liberal Democrats are demanding a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on tackling neighbourhood crime. 

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.

Graham Colley, Medway Liberal Democrat spokesperson said:“With the vast majority of burglaries still going unsolved in Kent and Medway, too many people feel unsafe in their own homes. Time and again, this Conservative Government has failed to deliver the absolute basics of stopping and solving crime. But enough is enough.

Kent and Medway deserves better. It’s high time to bring an end to this shameful burglar bailout - which is why Liberal Democrats will keep pushing the Conservatives to implement our Burglary Response Guarantee and get more bobbies on the beat.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: 

Full data on burglary outcomes, broken down by police force, is available here. Source: Home Office, Crime Outcomes in England and Wales, year to September 2023. 

Liberal Democrats are calling for a new statutory guarantee that all burglaries must be attended by police and properly investigated. 

To implement this guarantee, Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to: 

Return to proper community policing, where officers have the time and resources they need to focus on preventing and solving crime;

Urgently draw up a strategy to tackle the shortage of detectives; and

Set up a new national Online Crime Agency, to better protect people from online crime while freeing up local forces’ time to tackle burglars. 

Data on PCSO workforce available at: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 30 September 2023: data tables’, Table 3.

Historical data on PCSOs can be found here. 

The College of Policing defines PCSOs as a “key liaison point between local communities and policing. Publicly facing, they provide a visible, accessible and approachable uniformed presence in the community to offer reassurance, defuse situations with threats of conflict, improve confidence and trust, gather information and foster good community relations.”