Almost half of crimes reported to West Yorkshire Police NOT investigated

New statistics show that nearly 1 million crimes in UK dismissed without being investigated

A new report based on a Freedom of Information request by Channel 4 has revealed that 46.53% of crimes are being screened out. That means, they are not passed to an officer for investigation after an offence is logged and reported.

Nationally, of the 438,000 burglaries reported only 36.42% are passed for investigation and just 3% are solved.

The criteria for screening crimes out varies between forces but the main reason cited by all is limited resources meaning they have to prioritise cases.

This report comes as we approach the period when burglaries traditionally spike as the clocks go back and darker nights come. October is also National Home Security Month (NHSM) which means that there are lots of tips and advice in the media at the moment that will help people improve their home security.

These statistics would suggest that it’s never been more important to do what you can to prevent a burglary. With little chance of being caught, the risks of burglary are significantly diminished which is likely to result in even higher levels of break ins being committed.

We would therefore strongly advise people to make sure their home security is up to scratch. We have produced a range of advice on this topic as part of NHSM (this current campaign and previous years) and you can see it all by clicking here. You can also see resources from the national NHSM campaign here or by searching #NHSM18 on social media. However, in a nutshell, these top 10 tips are sensible precautions:

1. Keep doors and windows closed and locked at all times, even when at home
2. Leave lights on or use timers to make your house look occupied if you’re out
3. Make sure you have anti-snap locks installed
4. Consider installing a burglar alarm if you don’t have one
5. If you do have a burglar alarm, make sure you set it when you leave the house and when you’re in bed
6. Displaying a ‘No cold callers’ and ‘No junk mail’ sign will stop many approaching your home
7. Don’t ‘check in’ away from home or announce when you’ll be out on social media
8. Cut hedges back so there are no hiding places
9. Lock up out buildings and add them to your burglar alarm system if you have one
10. Get your burglar alarm serviced annually to keep it in good working order