National Police Chiefs Council figures reveal Nottinghamshire Police as a national leader in burglary visits

National figures have revealed Nottinghamshire Police is one of the most proactive forces for burglary investigations.

Figures released by the National Police Chiefs Council show that officers and staff attended 99% of residential break-ins last year — which is above the national average.

As low as 66% in some areas of the country, visits after break-ins allow for the best possible recovery of evidence and the most effective support for victims.

Over the last 12 months, Nottinghamshire Police was also among the top performing forces in investigating cases with 9% of investigations resulting in charge, caution or other positive resolution.

Unsolved cases, the force explained, are very often linked to a named suspect but they cannot be charged because of the high evidence threshold required.

Detective Chief Inspector Claire Gould, burglary lead at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Few other crimes have the kind of the same impact on victims’ wellbeing than a break-in at their own home.

“The knowledge that an intruder — in all likelihood a total stranger — has violated their lives in this way is a very difficult thing to deal with.

“That is why we take these offences so seriously and work to ensure that all victims are visited in person by an officer.

“As well as providing support of victims at very difficult times in their lives, these visits give us the best possible chance to collect evidence that will lead to a conviction.”

As well as investigating offences, with dedicated burglary teams, work is also being done to prevent them before they happen by installing systems such as doorbell cameras at the homes of vulnerable residents.

Detectives also aim to work closely with other forces to crack down on cross-border offences, and with vehicle manufacturers to improve their response to car-key break-ins.

Burglary offences can range in nature from opportunist thieves, to professional, forensically aware gangs who go to great lengths to cover their tracks.

Detective Chief Inspector Gould added: “Burglaries can be a very challenging offences to investigate and it is sometimes difficult to reach the very high evidential threshold we need to secure a criminal charge.

“However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a very good idea of who has committed a lot of the cases that remain unsolved — all of which can provide useful intelligence about individuals and methods of entry that will help us in future investigations.”