Bungling cops blasted for failing to ID suspected crooks in HALF of crimes reported to them
Our probe also discovered the postcode lottery facing crime victims across England and Wales with cops performances hugely varying on solving crime
COPS are failing to identify a suspect in over half of all crimes reported to them, a Sun investigation reveals.
And in four out of five cases culprits escape any form of punishment.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said victims are being failed in a policing “postcode lottery”.
Crime victims face a shocking postcode lottery when relying on police to snare crooks.
A huge trawl of official crime records in the past year reveals cops’ performances vary considerably over England and Wales.
Greater Manchester Police failed to identify a suspect in a staggering 91 per cent of all burglaries.
Meanwhile shoplifters in Devon and Cornwall were nearly twice as likely to face police action than in London.
Overall, cops are failing to even identify a suspect in more than half of all crimes reported to them.
Critics said the astonishing figures showed crooks are simply getting away with crime.
And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said victims are being let down.
He said: “I’ve never heard anything like this before on this scale. But if one force is far better than others at detecting burglars or whatever they need to share their best practice so we no longer get a postcode lottery.
“The public must lobby Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure they get the policing that they deserve.”
Fellow Tory Alec Shelbrooke said: “These figures show there can be massive differences between different police forces across borders and that shouldn’t be allowed to continue.”
Our investigation trawled through 10,000 pages of “Crime Outcomes” statistics held by the Home Office
The data is made up from records filed by all police forces in England and Wales and covers every crime reported to police, from vandalism to murder.
The figures show that of 4.2million crimes recorded by police forces in 2016/17, suspects were identified in just two million, 48 per cent. Action was taken against offenders in just 749,719 cases — equal to 17.5 per cent.
Our probe found drivers whose vehicles were stolen in the West Midlands were the least likely to see an arrest, with cops failing to identify suspects in nine of ten cases.
By contrast Durham Police identified a suspect in nearly half of all reported vehicle thefts, with 20 per cent of all cases leading to charges.
Assault victims in South Wales saw their attackers brought to justice in 37 per cent of cases. But in Hampshire only 12 per cent of suspects faced any further police action.
Other stark statistics showed how Greater Manchester Police recorded 30,725 burglaries last year, the second highest number after the Met.
Yet the force didn’t identify a suspect in 27,853 cases, 91 per cent, and took further action in only 1,621.
Leicestershire Police failed to ID a suspect in 61 per cent of cases. Yet in Devon and Cornwall one in two shoplifters faced further police action.
Forces say cops probing crimes may identify suspects later, meaning the official stats unfairly damning.
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A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We are clear that all crimes reported to police should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.”
Shadow Police and Crime Minister Louise Haigh said: “The public will be horrified.”
