Nearly 70% of burglaries remain unsolved by police force that covers Milton Keynes

Shocking figures revealed by councillors show that almost 70% of burglaries are going unsolved in Thames Valley region.

The data covers the 3,397 burglaries that took place in the Thames Valley police force area during the first three quarters of 2022.

Of these, 2,359 were closed without even identifying a suspect. And only 133 of the burglaries resulted in a charge or summons.

The figures were uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, who claim many families in MK now feel “unsafe” in their own homes.

The councillors have also unearthed data on police attendance of burglaries nationally, which shows almost four in 10 burglaries did not result in a visit to the scene by a police officer.

The figures were based on data provided by 19 police forces in England. Thames Valley did not provide the data.

MK’s Councillor Robin Bradburn, who sits on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel, said: “It’s shocking that so many burglaries in our city are going unsolved by the police. No family should be denied justice after suffering the distress and trauma of being burgled.

“Many families across Milton Keynes now feel unsafe in their own homes because this Conservative government has left our police forces overstretched and under-resourced. It means too many victims are being denied justice and far too many criminals are getting away with it.”

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new “Burglary Response Guarantee”, which would ensure that all domestic burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated.

This will require a return to proper community policing - where officers are visible, trusted, and have the time and resources needed to focus on solving crime.

They are urging the government to urgently draw up a strategy to tackle the shortage of detectives, and also set up a new national Online Crime Agency, to better protect people from online crime while freeing up local forces’ time to tackle burglars.

Since 2015, the Conservatives have taken over 4,000 Police Community Support Officers off the streets, while they look set to have broken their key promise of having recruited an extra 20,000 police officers by the end of March 2023, say the Lib Dems.