Police fail to hit dwelling burglary targets
Canterbury police are trying to improve their response to burglaries at homes, with officers failing to attend one in five break-ins within two days and only 10 per cent of offenders going to court.
Last year, the National Government announced a $500 million package to make communities safer, including recruiting 1125 new police officers and introducing a target for police to attend 98 per cent of dwelling burglaries within two days of them being reported.
Police figures show the clearance rate for burglaries nationally is only 10 per cent and just four of the country’s 12 police districts managed to attend more than 90 per cent of dwelling burglaries within 48 hours between January
2017 and February 2018. Canterbury had the second lowest attendance rate in the country, with police visiting only
77.7 per cent of the 3299 dwelling burglaries reported in the district within the targeted timeframe. Northland was the lowest with 74.9 per cent, while Auckland was at the top with 93.5 per cent.
Canterbury police crime head Detective Sergeant Leairne Dow said a recent review focused on improving the response and investigation of dwelling burglaries. The review found several areas for improvement, including enhancing access to case management systems so forensic evidence could be reviewed better and implementing further prevention initiatives.
‘‘Police recognise the huge impact that dwelling burglaries have on individuals, families and communities. It is an invasive crime that seriously affects its victims.’’ Dow said while police endeavoured to attend all dwelling burglaries within 48 hours, it was not always possible.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the goal of attending 98 per cent of dwelling burglaries within two days was always going to be ‘‘very challenging’’. He did not see any point lowering the target, saying it would send ‘‘the wrong message’’.
‘‘Let’s just leave it higher and make sure there are the resources to achieve the best possible results.’’ The fact only about 10 per cent of burglary cases made it to court also ‘‘sends a picture that there isn’t sufficient investigative resources’’, he said.