Burglars Less Deterred by Occupied Homes

An interesting article in today's Telegraph (subscription) describes how the number of domestic burglaries at occupied properties has soared in recent years.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales, which is prepared by the Office for National Statistics, reported that 44% of burglaries in 2004-05 involved occupied properties. By 2016-17 that figure had increased to 58%.

The findings come just a few days after Maureen Whale, 77, collapsed as she dialled 999 to report a break in at her home in Bells Hill, Barnet. The police call handler summoned an ambulance when the line went silent, but sadly Mrs Whale died in hospital on Wednesday morning.

Campaigners say that criminals have been emboldened by a reduction in the number of police and therefore have a much lower chance of being caught.

Barbara Oakley, an operations manager with charity Victim Support, told the Telegraph: "In light of all the cuts there have been, burglary has really dropped down the police's list of priorities and in some areas you don't get attendance for burglary unless the offender is still on sight or there is some sort of forensic evidence."

"We have had it fed back to us that offenders are now less wary about being caught.

"There are a lot of spot burglaries now where they [burglars] just go along and try door handles. The handles don't get fingerprinted or anything like that because the police don't have the resources."

Burglary can have a devastating impact on its victim. In addition to items stolen, the occupier often has to make right an expensive trail of destruction. What should be a place of sanctuary and security has been violated and the victim is often left feeling anxious in their own home.

The maximum penalty for burglary of a dwelling is 14 years imprisonment, but it is a regrettable fact that even if caught red handed a first time burglar rarely faces a custodial sentence.

A few months ago I became aware of a case where a burglar with a fetish for stealing women's attire broke into an isolated rural property in the early hours of the morning. He ended up in the spare bedroom where the heavily pregnant lady of the household was sleeping to give her partner some quality slumber in the other room. She awoke horrified to find the intruder crawling around at the foot of her bed.

The same burglar, during a different incident nearby, broke into another rural home and stole a wig belonging the lady of the household who was being treated for cancer. Her husband, who had drifted asleep in his chair in the lounge, was woken up by noise and gave chase. The fleeing intruder dropped women's boots and underwear from yet another property when he was making good his escape.

To give the police their due, they did eventually catch up with the crook in question as he had left DNA evidence behind. The burglar pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, but the Magistrates declined jurisdiction because their sentencing powers insufficient. Disappointingly the Crown Court judge disposing of the matter ended up giving a suspended sentence only fractionally longer than that the Magistrates could have imposed anyway.

I don't suppose the victims of those crimes have too much faith in the justice system.