2019 police data reveals more than 75% of burglaries reported in Newark and Sherwood saw the investigation end with no suspect identified

While this was the most common outcome for burglaries reported in that time, the figures also discovered 15.17% were under investigation (96) and 3.48% of cases were unable to prosecute suspect (22).

Of the other outcomes, in one instance action was to be taken by another organisation, in another, formal action was not in the public interest, in three cases, a suspect was charged as part of another case, and in four, a court result was unavailable.

According to the data, the highest number of burglaries, 68, were reported in November, and the lowest reported in April, with 46.

Insurance industry experts said figures such as these could be taken into account when premiums were established.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: “It is up to individual insurers how they determine home insurance premiums, many factors, including local crime rates, are often considered.”

Police have said there are limitations to the data, however, as they say the details of crimes may change after the figures are recorded.

A crime initially listed as a burglary might later be reclassified as a different crime, but this might not be reflected in the data.

A recent report on crime, for the year ending June 2019, from the Office for National Statistics, said there was a 4% decrease in burglary according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

“A rise or fall in police recorded crime does not necessarily mean the actual level of crime in society has changed,” the report said.

“The data can be affected by changes in recording practices, policing activity and victims’ willingness to report crime.”

“Police-recorded burglary offen-ces had shown rises in recent years (6% in the year ending March 2018 and 3% ending March 2017).

“However, figures for the year ending June 2019 show the number of burglary offences fell by 4%.

“We believe this crime type is less affected by recording improvements than other types of crime, as it is generally well-reported by victims and well-recorded by police.

“CSEW domestic burglary has shown no significant change in recent years.”

Police doing all they can

Responding to the number of burglaries across the district, Inspector Heather Sutton, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said the crime was a priority for the force because of how upsetting and impactful it could be on the lives of innocent people.

“We want to continue to do all we can to pursue offenders and bring them to justice as well as providing the best level of service we can to victims,” she said.

“In Newark and Sherwood we have seen a 14.2% reduction in burglaries, comparing the period between January and December last year and the same period the previous year.

“The force is also outperforming the rest of the country on burglary, both regionally and nationally, which is down 8% compared with a 4% decrease nationally and 6% regionally.

“Our success in reducing burglary follows the introduction of two dedicated burglary teams covering the city and county areas that are helping to drive the figures down.

“We are also seeing a further 107 new police officers joining our force by the end of March, which will build on this success.

“We thoroughly investigate reports of burglaries but in some instances there can be situations where there’s no suspect identified for an offence. This could be if there are no evidential leads to investigate a crime, such as no CCTV or forensic opportunities.”

Anyone with information about burglaries should contact the police on 101.

You may also like...

Church community concern over new parking charges

Train service retains passenger satisfaction

District's housing stock brought back in-house