'We’ve made great progress' - West Midlands Police have saved 2,300 people more from becoming victims of Burglary
Burglary is down more than 20 per cent in the West Midlands – the equivalent of 2,300 fewer victims - as its commitment to local policing and bringing offenders to justice continues.
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The impressive decrease is the second biggest reduction in burglaries among forces of a similar size to West Midlands.
The Force said it knows how 'devastating and frightening' crime can be, and its locally-based investigators are committed to supporting victims and bringing criminals to justice.
It comes as the region's officers are solving twice as many burglaries than they were in 2023, and more than the national average, but said that there is more work to be done with its focus is on preventing burglaries, targeting repeat offenders and organised crime groups while solving as many burglaries as they can.
It continued to reassure the public that, like all forces, in 2023 it is committed to sending officers to every burglary that’s reported to it, and, last month it went to 100 per cent of the burglaries that were in progress or had just happened.
Officers also went to 95 per cent of other burglaries but that 'sometimes' it’s not possible to visit as a victim may be away on holiday, or not want officers to attend.
Det Supt Dave Sproson, our neighbourhood crime lead, said: “We’ve made great progress in driving down burglaries and improving the number of crimes that we solve.
“A real focus on neighbourhood patrols and investigations carried out by local officers, close working with Roads Policing Unit to disrupt and arrest criminals who use vehicles to get around.
“We are also more closely scrutinising our burglary investigations to hold ourselves to account and ensure we are getting justice for people who have been burgled.
“We are putting the people who have been burgled at the heart of everything we do around this. In recent times, we’ve recovered an MBE medal that we are still looking to return to its owner and we have return a loved one’s ashes.”
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "We are also looking at more accurately recording the number of visits to victims who report a burglary.
"And our Crime Free Team works with prolific, non-violent burglars to stop them from reoffending and divert away from drugs and into employment.
"As part of the programme, the individual is given the opportunity to admit to previous offending, and often return outstanding stolen property to victims.
"If they go on to offend again, they are given a longer sentence than they would normally have done if they’d not been part of the programme."
