Poor show: under the Tories, with ‘Congo’ Chris Philp as policing minister, only 1-in-5 burglaries reported in Croydon are being solved
Official figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the Metropolitan Police is solving just 1-in-5 burglary cases in Croydon – where Chris Philp, the Tory policing minister, is seeking re-election as an MP.
The figures show that Croydon’s burglary crime clear-up rate is worse than the national average – and even that is very poor under the Tories, with three-quarters of burglaries going unsolved.
The figures were compiled from a series of FoI requests which have broken down unsolved burglaries data by local area.
The number of burglaries that went unsolved in Croydon in 2023 was 78%.
Of the 1,844 cases, 1,434 had their investigation completed with no suspect identified.
Official government figures show that under the Conservatives, nationally 76% of burglaries went unsolved in 2023.
The details were compiled by the Liberal Democrats, whose party leader, Sir Ed Davey, has announced a “Burglary Response Guarantee” in his party’s manifesto. The party’s proposals would ensure that all domestic burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated.
Richard Howard is the LibDem General Election candidate in Croydon South, where “Congo” Chris Philp has been MP since 2015.
Policing the police stats: LibDem candidate Richard Howard
“Too many families in Croydon now feel unsafe in their own homes because this Conservative Government has decimated frontline policing for too long,” Howard said.
“Victims are being denied justice because Conservative ministers can’t even get the basics right on solving crime. That is why the Liberal Democrats would deliver a Burglary Response Guarantee, to ensure all home burglaries are attended by the police and properly investigated.
“People are sick of seeing their local communities plagued by crime and just want this appalling Conservative Government to be kicked out of office.”
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
While London Conservatives have tried to pin the blame for rising crime on Sadiq Khan, we have them to thank for slashing police budgets and staffing levels and closing police stations.
When he was Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was responsible for shutting down 63 of London’s cop shops and pushing through a Tory government cut of half a billion quid of policing spending in London alone.
The Tories’ claim that they have increased the number of police officers is typical of them. They create a problem then want credit for solving it, and even then, it’s a lie.
Figures reported to Parliament in January show that in March 2023, there was the full-time equivalent of 171,000 police officers across the UK, below the 172,000 they inherited from Labour when they came to power in 2010. And that masks a low point of 150,000 in the years 2017-19.
Today the Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, warned that government cuts will continue to have an impact. He said that in March 2012, there were 350 police officers for every 100,000 Londoners, it’s currently 330 and is projected to drop further to 310 in 8 months’ time.
The Greens and the LibDems have loudly criticised the government for this dire state of affairs. However, in its report on this issue, the BBC noted that “Labour declined to comment and the Conservatives did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment”.
For more austerity and rising crime, vote for Sunak or Starmer