Is burglary now close to “unsolvable” in Thurrock?

ONLY 6% of burglaries in Thurrock were solved last year.

Every year, since 2006, YT has (through a Freedom of Information request) published findings into crime and detection rates in Thurrock.

Last year, we noted that 90% of burglaries remained unsolved. Many thought that it could not get any worse. It appears it just has.

In 2012-13, there were 1640 burglaries in the borough. Around half were in houses and the other half in sheds, outhouses, garages etc. Only 111 were detected.

The figures will come as no surprise to residents in areas such as Stanford-le-Hope, who have expressed their grave concerns and fears regarding burglary in their area.

And we have to repeat what we reported last year: fewer and fewer people are reporting crime, a statistic that many will interpret as a massive vote of no confidence in the criminal justice system  in Thurrock, in Essex and in the UK.

In 2006, there were 1815 burglaries reported to the police in Thurrock. 208 were detected or solved. A clear up rate of 11%.

In 2011, there were 1642 burglaries reported to the police in Thurrock. 189 were detected or solved. A clear up rate of 11%.

In 2012, there were 1589 burglaries reported to the police in Thurrock. 172 were detected. A clear up rate of 10%

In 2013, there were 1640 burglaries reported to the police in Thurrock. 111 were detected. A clear up rate of 6%.

It is unknown as to how many of those 111 went to court but the omens are not good as, according to a survey last year, Basildon magistrates
court is the third most lenient court in the UK for convicted burglars.

What stands out is that in 2006, there were 9484 crimes reported across seven categories of crime.
In 2011, there were 6633.
In 2012, there were 6403.
In 2013, there were 6263.

A fall of 3221. Many may feel that with thousands of less crimes being reported, that would free up the police to concentrate on solving more crimes. Apparently not.

There are now a number of questions that have to be asked of police and politicians alike.
We intend to do so.

The first port of call may well be the Conservative Essex Police and Crime Commissioner. Mr Alston will be speaking at the Ockendon Community Hub at 5pm tonight (yep..really convenient time).

Some may say that no wonder he plans to scrap targets. Others may point to the £40 million worth of cuts that have been made to Essex Police and say no wonder there are consequences.

There is much to discuss.

Offences recorded in Thurrock District

Violence against the person

2006-07: 2432 1579 65%
2007-08: 3000 1269 42%
2008-09 2803 1343 48%
2009-10 2106 1197 49%
2010-11: 2143 1115 52%
2011-12: 2164 923 42%
2012-13: 2204 811 36%

Sexual Offences

2006-07 126 43 34%
2007-08 368 50 14%
2008-09 197 26 13%
2009-10 95 17 17%
2010-11 122 27 22%
2011-12 130 25 19%
2012-13 171 20 17%

Robbery

2006-07 201 42 21%
2007-08 588 46 8%
2008-09 311 46 15%
2009-10 143 35 24%
2010-11 149 32 21%
2011-12 132 30 22%
2012-13 157 25 15%

Fraud and Forgery

2006-07 1336 224 17%
2007-08 882 210 24%
2008-09 966 171 18%
2009-10 494 132 26%
2010-11 424 114 26%
2011-12 284 70 24%
2012-13 194 67 34%

Drug Offences

2006-07 228 206 90%
2007-08 308 235 76%
2008-09 544 321 59%
2009-10 467 442 94%
2010-11 376 366 97%
2011-12 336 311 92%
2012-13 349 326 93%

Criminal Damage

2006-07 3346 465 14%
2007-08 2541 472 19%
2008-09 2958 399 13%
2009-10 2211 323 14%
2010-11 1777 320 18%
2011-12 1768 247 13%
2012-13 1568 202 12%

Burglary

2006-07 1815 208 11%
2007-08 1973 192 10%
2008-09 1408 251 18%
2009-10 1658 366 22%
2010-11 1642 189 11%
2011-12 1589 172 10%
2012-13 1640 111 6%