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If you were under the impression that the police are getting to grips with burglary – after much heralded publicity that they have been – then think again.

It appears the opposite is true. We really all are on our own when it comes to taking measures to protect our homes and property.

Dire new statistics reveal that the country is turning into a thieves’ paradise, with local constabularies seemingly unable to prevent, detect or prosecute any burglaries that occur – wherever you live.  

Shocking crime figures for 2025 show that the police failed to solve a staggering 92 per cent of all reported burglaries Burglar's Perspective: 6 Pro Tips to Enhance Home Security across England and Wales.

A major investigation by The Sun newspaper has uncovered that in a third of neighbourhoods - which are typically made up of 10 to 15,000 residents - the boys in blue failed to solve a single case.

Averaged out, figures specifically for the West Midlands constabulary are very much in line with the national statistics. Featuring prominently in the table of shame, West Bromwich recorded the highest number of burglaries in our region (322), of which only 7.1% were solved. Dudley North was a little way behind that in terms of the number of break-ins (272) but had one of the lowest percentages of cracked cases nationally (4.4%). Across our entire Greater Midlands region, the success rate for solving burglaries was typically running at around or less than 10% Commercial & Home Security | Birmingham.

(Click the link below to check out how many burglaries were recorded and solved in your locality during 2025)    

Police failed to solve colossal 92% of burglaries in Britain last year - now use our interactive map to check your area

Unsurprisingly, MPs and policing experts say the figures are so bad that it shows burglary has been “effectively decriminalised.”  

Here’s the headline information for last year:

• 92% of nearly 200,000 illegal entry investigations were closed without being solved
• Of the 184,783 burglaries investigated by police, 143,000 were shut down without a suspect being identified
• Across England and Wales, 1,528 out of 4,536 neighbourhoods (34 per cent) where burglaries were recorded had zero cases solved
• In another 27,500 cases, a suspect was identified but couldn’t be prosecuted
• 50% of cases probed were closed in the same month as the crime was committed – with no suspect identified
• No further action was taken in 400 cases, which were classified as “not in the public interest
• With a further 45,000 burglary cases still on-going, the true number of unprosecuted or unsolved cases is almost certainly higher than published.

Prior criticism of police failing to attend burglaries

Back in 2023, police officers came in for criticism for failing to attend every reported burglary Rapid Police Response to Home Burglaries Boosts Charge Rates and, even when they did, it sometimes to took them up to 28 hours to pay a visit.

Since then, police forces have adopted a policy of attending each incident within an hour, which we’ve covered in previous blogs.

Given this latest press investigation, however, it doesn’t appear that the new “attend within 60 minutes” policy is having much of a positive effect.

The Home Office has said that major police reforms, which will include the formation of a new National Police Service, will enable local forces to prioritise neighbourhood crime, such as burglary.

As part of this new initiative, by this Spring, up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers are expected to be out on the beat.

Crime figures make grim reading

Justice Fire & Security Managing Director, Dave Sanders, said the latest findings made grim reading. “This doesn’t instil any great confidence that the police are getting to grips with burglary,” he observed. “Very few intruders are either being caught or prosecuted.

“We all sincerely hope this situation will improve but, for the foreseeable future, the message coming across loud and clear is that homeowners should take all necessary measures to protect their property,” he continued.

“Prevention is always better than cure, which is why having an affordable intruder alarm Home Security | Offers | Justice Fire & Security and, quite possibly, other security equipment such as CCTV in operation, is the best way to deter a burglar from even attempting to break-in.

“If you already have an alarm and or CCTV in place Home Security | CCTV | Security Systems, it is also important to ensure that it is fully operational and undergoes regular service and maintenance,” Dave added.