Story by Emily Dalton.

Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, called for a return to "proper community policing" as the Home Office reveals a shocking 82% of burglaries go unsolved by the Metropolitan Police.

New statistics from the official Home Office statistics show a total of 47,050 burglaries in London were closed without a suspect being identified across the 2022/2023 financial year.  

Only 6% of crimes were charged, leaving an average of 129 burglaries left unsolved every day. 

Olney said: "Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure in their own homes. But under this terrible Government, so many burglars are getting off scot-free. These figures will bring little comfort to families and pensioners in London." 

There was 943 incidents of burglary in Richmond during 2022. Based on estimations released from the Home Office, only 57 of reported crimes were solved during this period.

In a press statement from the Lib Dems, they advocated for a system where "police officers are trusted and visible in their neighbourhoods, with the time and resources to focus on tackling local crimes like burglaries."

Richmond is still the viewed as the safest London boroughs. It has a burglary crime rate of 4.76 per 1000 in contrast to central London's 6.01 per 1000 (as of 2022). Although there is statistically more burglaries in central London compared to Richmond, it remains to be seen whether these crimes are being solved.

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The party is also advocating for a new "Burglary Response Guarantee" under which all domestic burglaries would be attended by the police and properly investigated.

Olney added: "The Conservatives must finally bring back proper community policing and back the Liberal Democrats Burglary Response Guarantee so all burglaries are attended by the police. It's the only way to reverse these shocking figures."

Nationally, across England and Wales, nearly 77% of all burglaries went unsolved during the same period. 

The National Police Chiefs' Council have announced that as of June 2023, police are now attending the scene of every home burglary. However, no evidence has yet been published to show if this is the case.

The commitment from the National Police Chiefs' Council is a voluntary pledge, rather than the statutory guarantee that would place a duty on police forces to attend every burglary, and a duty on the Government to make sure the resources are in place to do it.

Kingston Met Police have been contacted for comment.