The MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, has called for a “return” of community policing after research revealed the average response time to burglaries has risen by over 200% in three years.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse
In the 2022/23 financial year, the average response time to burglary calls by Avon & Somerset Police took over 5 hours.
This was an increase of almost 70% on the average response time from the year before, and a 210% rise on the response time by the police force in 2020/21, according to the research by the Liberal Democrats.
Burglaries are often considered Grade 2 priority incidents, which most police forces aim to respond to within one hour.
However, police forces across England are falling short of this target, with those surveyed taking an average of 9 hours and 8 minutes for an officer to arrive at the scene once a burglary was reported.
This is a 25% increase when compared to the previous year and an 87% increase on burglary response times in 2020/21.
In addition to the increased response times to burglaries in 2022/23, of the 6,150 burglaries reported to Avon & Somerset Police that year, 74% went unsolved.
This means an average of 12 burglaries went unsolved each day in the region.
While the numbers of burglaries unsolved by Avon & Somerset Police have improved in the last three years, following a decline in reports, the Bath MP is arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime.
More than 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) have been taken off the streets since 2015.
The MP is calling for a return to “proper community policing”, where officers are visible, trusted and able to focus on responding to neighbourhood crime like burglaries.
Mrs Hobhouse commented: “Having your home burgled is a traumatic experience, and victims in Bath deserve a timely response and a thorough investigation from their local police force.
“Yet, years of Conservative mismanagement have made realistic expectations of safety and effective policing seem nearly impossible for forces across the country.
“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.
“Our communities deserve to feel safe. But this government has decimated community policy, leaving forces lacking resources and victims lacking support.
“It’s time to restore proper community policing so people can be confident that if they do fall victim to crime, the police will turn up and investigate properly.”
