House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Reported Thefts

Monday 15 January 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

Sarah Dyke asked about the average length of time between theft reports and first contact with the police in the last 12 months.
The Government reports a year-long commitment by the police to attend every residential burglary has led to an 8% year-on-year reduction in residential burglary.
Sarah Dyke inquired about the success of the national rural crime unit in improving police contacts with victims of rural theft.

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Sarah Dyke Lib Dem Glastonbury and Somerton

Crime & Law Enforcement

Context

The Liberal Democrat MP is inquiring about the efficiency of police responses to reported thefts, specifically focusing on residential burglary cases over the last 12 months.

Question

What the average length of time was between (a) thefts being reported and (b) first contact with the police in the last 12 months?

Answer from Chris Philp

The Government take domestic burglary very seriously, which is why, just over a year ago, we obtained a commitment from the police to attend every residential burglary. That is delivering results and, according to the crime survey, residential burglary has fallen by 8% year on year.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question asked for specific statistics about response times, but the answer did not provide them.

How: Changed Subject

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Q2 Sarah Dyke Lib Dem Glastonbury and Somerton

Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement

Context

The MP is concerned about the rising costs of rural theft in the south-west, noting a 16.6% increase from the previous year. She asks for an evaluation on how effective the new national rural crime unit has been.

Question

I thank the Minister for his response. In 2022, the cost of rural theft in the south-west rose by 16.6% from the year before. Has the Minister made an assessment of the success of the new national rural crime unit in improving police contacts with victims of rural theft?

Answer from Chris Philp

I agree that combating rural crime is extremely important, and the national rural crime unit is designed to do exactly that. We have also legislated, of course, and we will implement that legislation to ensure that things like all-terrain vehicles and agricultural equipment have to be marked or fitted with an immobiliser. Overall domestic burglary has fallen by 57% since 2010.