Half of burglaries on occupied homes as thieves grow bolder
HALF of burglaries in Britain now take place while householders are inside their homes, as thieves become emboldened by police inaction.
Figures show 58 per cent of burglaries happen at occupied properties, as campaigners said criminals no longer feared being caught in the act.
The findings come after Maureen Whale, 77, collapsed and later died as she telephoned 999 to report a break-in at her home on Tuesday night. The thieves were seen on CCTV breaking into the detached home
Police were accused of ignoring repeated warnings about gangs operating in the neighbourhood of Barnet, north London. Three other burglaries took place nearby on the same day.
Police forces across the country are struggling to cope with a rising tide of violent crime. Figures released this year showed two thirds of reported burglaries were no longer being pursued properly by officers.
Last night a charity supporting burglary victims suggested offenders were taking more risks because they knew police were less likely to send out officers.
Analysis of the most recent Office for National Statistics crime figures shows the proportion of burglaries targeting properties when someone is at home has soared in recent years.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales found such incidents made up 44 per cent of raids in 2004-05, but have since shot up to 58 per cent in 2016-17.
Barbara Oakley, an operations manager at Victim Support, told The Daily Telegraph: “In light of all the cuts there have been, burglary has really dropped down the police’s list of priorities and in some areas you don’t get attendance for burglary unless the offender is still on site or there is some sort of forensic evidence. We have had it fed back to us that offenders are less wary now of being caught.
“There is a lot of spot burglaries now where they just go along and try the handles. The [door handles] don’t even necessarily get fingerprinted or anything like that because police just don’t have the resources to do it.”
In a survey on behalf of Victim Support, over 1,000 burglary victims were questioned. Around 87 per cent said household members were “significantly affected”.