More visible policing is needed to improve 'dire' performance - Andrew Vine

He’s presumably the same toe-rag responsible for a recent spate of break-ins locally, taking advantage of people who have forgotten to lock patio doors or shut downstairs windows thrown open during the sweltering heat.

I couldn’t fault the response of the police when I reported the would-be burglar.

A sympathetic community support officer visited within an hour, downloaded the CCTV footage and promised she’d be back the following day, which she was, with packs of additional window locks for me and next door.

So far, so good. But what chance of catching the prowler? Realistically, none whatsoever she admitted. Though my neighbour’s CCTV pictures are of the highest quality, the culprit was wearing what I guess is a preferred burglar’s uniform of hoodie pulled low to the eyes and a facemask, making him difficult to identify.

And that’s that. No checking for fingerprints or trawl of nearby addresses to see if anybody else has got CCTV of him without the mask, not for the sake of my neighbour and me, who have lost nothing, but in the hope of catching the burglar of three households I know of in the surrounding streets.

Those people have become statistics – amongst the almost 96 per cent of burglary victims who never see the criminals, who violate their homes and steal what they have worked hard for, charged and punished.

Burglary victims have often told me of the rage and frustration they feel at being targeted by criminals who operate with apparent impunity, secure in the knowledge that the overwhelming likelihood is that they won’t be caught.

And we’ve all heard a friend or neighbour who has been burgled say: “Yes, I’ve reported it, but only to get a crime number for the insurance. They won’t catch anybody.”

Sadly, that perception of criminals getting away with it has become fact. Last week’s report by national police watchdog Andy Cooke about the response to burglary, robbery and theft was scathing.

Police performance was “dire”, “not what the public expect and deserve” and often failed to carry out basic inquiries. Clear-up rates are abysmal, with forces charging a suspect in only four per cent of thefts, 3.7 per cent of burglaries, three per cent of vehicle thefts and one per cent of theft from cars.

Nobody wants to knock the police, but this is just appalling.

Yes, we know they are under pressure, not least because a Conservative government that bills itself as the party of law and order left forces short of 20,000 officers because of cuts.

But even so, Mr Cooke is right when he says we deserve better, and the fact is that the public knows how that could be achieved – which is by putting officers on the streets and becoming more visible.

In his report, Mr Cooke cites several examples where the police are performing well – including operations in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Humberside. In each case, crime in a particular area was tackled by putting boots on the ground.

That is hardly surprising. You don’t need to be a criminologist to work out that if officers are out and about and visible, villains are much more likely to steer clear.

But one-off operations are not enough. More visible policing needs to become the norm instead of the exception.

A former chief constable I know well has for years raged about the disappearance of officers from neighbourhoods. Being seen is not only a deterrent, but builds relationships with residents and provides vital intelligence that can clear up crime.

In his own career, starting as a beat officer, he attributes countless arrests to chatting to people in the neighbourhoods he patrolled, picking up snippets of information about suspicious sightings, learning who was widely known to be involved in crime and letting them know that they were being watched.

Given that an overwhelming majority of crimes are committed by repeat offenders, it surely makes sense to target them with a regular visible police presence.

Since the spate of burglaries where I live, there have been more police around. Patrol cars regularly cruise by after dark, and community support officers are out on foot, both of which are reassuring.

Since that started, I haven’t heard of any more break-ins. Coincidence? I don’t think so, but officers tell me that the patrols are a temporary measure that won’t continue for very much longer.

It is time for forces to return to what the public knows is the best way of doing that, and for ministers to give them the resources to do it.