Interesting Facts

Police in the UK only solve 1 in 10 burglaries. (According to crime statistics, £2 billion worth of goods have been stolen over the past 6 years, but only £137 million worth recovered. Some newspapers are blaming the cuts in front-line-officers over the past 6 years, but there is no surprise for me here. We were broken into 4 times, and no one ever got back to us on any of the cases, including the one where the burglars left a knife covered in oily prints. (We also lived just down the road from a police station.) People being quoted in the press are saying things like "They just don't seem to care", well my friends, they didn't care in the past either.)

As part of an experiment to save money,  a police force in the UK has decided to stop investigating attempted burglaries - at odd-numbered houses. (Leicestershire Police said the pilot scheme had had no adverse effect on crime rates, or public satisfaction.  Try asking people who live in odd-numbered houses!)

According to data from 28 police forces in England and Wales, 50% of crimes reported to police are unsolved. (The shocking figures also show that nearly three quarters of cases of theft, criminal damage and arson cases this year were classed as "investigation complete, no suspect identified". This doesn't surprise me in the least.  When we lived in Bristol, we were burgled 4 times, and no one was ever caught, even though the thieves left a knife covered in oily marks that were obviously finger prints.  After that we bought a burglar alarm.)

Research by moneysupermarket.com has shown that people living in London and Nottingham are most likely to be victims of burglary. (Five of the top 20 postcode districts in which people have made claims for theft or burglary on their home insurance during the past five years are in London and four are in Nottingham. I was burgled four times, but I was living in Bristol at the time. It doesn't really matter where you live in the UK, there is always the risk that someone will decide they deserve what you've got.)