Recent data shows that nearly 80% of car thefts in Leicestershire go unsolved, raising concerns about local safety and police effectiveness
Leicester: It’s pretty alarming to hear that nearly four out of five car thefts in Leicestershire are still unsolved. The Home Office data shows that out of hundreds of reported thefts, only a handful led to charges. That’s just crazy!
In the three months leading up to June last year, there were 542 car thefts reported. But get this—about 77% of those cases went cold. Only 22 resulted in someone actually being charged. That’s just 4.1% of the total. Yikes!
This isn’t just a local issue; it’s happening all over the UK. Nationally, around 24,837 car thefts went unsolved during the same period. That’s nearly four in five thefts across the country. It’s a real problem.
Leicestershire Police are trying to tackle this by identifying hotspots where car thefts are common. They’re stepping up patrols in those areas, hoping to catch the bad guys in the act.
Detective Chief Inspector Rich Jackson, who’s in charge of vehicle crime, gets it. He knows how much a stolen car can mess up someone’s life. He mentioned that criminals don’t stick to one area, so they’re working with other police forces to catch them.
They’ve been doing some enforcement operations lately, which led to a few arrests and some stolen vehicles being recovered. So, there’s some action happening, at least!
Interestingly, the Lib Dems have pointed fingers at the previous Conservative Government for cutting police numbers, saying it’s made things worse. They’re urging the new Labour Government to bring back community policing.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has promised to add 13,000 more officers and community support roles to help tackle crime. He’s also said every neighborhood will have a named officer to deal with local issues.
A Home Office spokesperson acknowledged that vehicle theft is a serious issue and said they’re working on it. They’re training officers on how thieves operate and encouraging car owners to secure their vehicles better.
So, it looks like there’s a lot of work to be done to get a handle on this situation!
