Police take 22 hours to respond to burglary calls, PCC candidate says
AS three people bid to become the area’s police and crime commissioner, one candidate says Devon and Cornwall officers take an average of 22 hours to respond to calls about burglaries.
Conservative Alison Hernandez is the serving police and crime commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, having been first elected to the role in 2016.
She will be challenged in the poll on Thursday, May 2, by Labour candidate Daniel Steel and Steve Lodge, from the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Lodge said he believes that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime.
He provided the figures for burglary response times, adding they were a 25% increase on response times compared to figures from 2021-22 nationally – but with no comparison figures available for Devon & Cornwall police due to continued faulty IT systems.
He said: “In Devon and Cornwall the response time is 22 hours and 11 minutes – compare that to Bedfordshire where it’s 15 minutes and you have to ask what’s going wrong. Only two other forces in the country have higher response times.
“Having your home burgled is a traumatic experience, and victims deserve a swift response from the police. Yet thanks to the Conservative Government, this is increasingly out of reach.
“People in Devon and Cornwall deserve to feel safe in their own homes. The fact that traumatised burglary victims are being left waiting for hours, wondering if the police will even arrive, is unacceptable. To think that crucial evidence may be lost in the process too is unforgivable.”
In response, Ms Hernandez said: “When Mr Lodge thinks comparing Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the largest territorial police force in England, with Bedfordshire we are in trouble. With 4,000 square miles to cover, 1.8 million population and the largest road network in England here, compared to Bedfordshire’s 477 square miles and much less than 40% of the population.
“Devon and Cornwall have consistently for many years had the lowest burglary rate in the country. While Bedfordshire’s is three times higher.”
Police and crime commissioners are elected to deliver an effective and efficient police service within their force area. They are responsible for appointing the chief constable, holding them to account for running the force, setting the police and crime objectives for their area through a police and crime plan and setting the force budget. The winner will serve a four-year term.