Editorial Comment:

We have become used to stories of soaring knife crime and rising violence. As the official crime statistics for 2018 have confirmed, the number of murders and injuries caused by stabbings is higher than for many years and is showing no sign of a decline, even though there has been a slow-down in the rate of growth.

But as if this is not bad enough, a separate set of figures issued by the Home Office shows one of the causes of rising lawlessness: pitifully few people who commit crimes are ever brought to book.

Last year, just 8.2 per cent of offences led to a suspect being charged or summonsed to appear in court. In 46 per cent of cases no suspect was even identified, while in around one fifth of cases a victim decided not to support further action. Three quarters of theft cases were closed without an arrest.

We are often told that there are not enough police officers to patrol the streets and stop crime happening because they are too busy following up crimes that have already happened. Yet these figures belie that. What is apparent from the statistics is how much more time is spent on domestic abuse, malicious communications and fraud compared to theft and burglary. This is not to devalue the former, but burglary in particular is a crime that traumatises and violates someone’s home. Yet it hardly rates a mention in the statistics, unsurprisingly since only around 3 per cent are ever solved and the police hardly bother with it any more. As Ian Hopkins, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said earlier this week, his force does not fully investigate more than 40 per cent of reported offences. Is it any surprise that the criminals feel emboldened?