Almost 90 per cent of burglaries unsolved in Bradford in two years

Latest figures released to the Telegraph & Argus reveal that no-one has been caught for 88.8 per cent of the crimes - a detection rate described as "pretty hopeless" by one of the district's MPs.

The shock figures from West Yorkshire Police show that 12,453 out of 14,015 burglaries reported to police between August 31, 2012 and July 31, 2014 went undetected.

But police insist they have made "significant efforts" over the last two years to reduce burglaries and target burglary hotspots.

Superintendent Scott Bisset, head of operations at Bradford District police, said domestic burglaries had dropped by 25 per cent n the last two years.

But councillor Imran Hussain, Bradford Council's portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities said the number of burglaries unsolved was the one to focus on.

"This figure is one we should all be concerned about because it is a figure that is way too high and needs to be reduced," he said.

"We need to look at why quite a lot of these go undetected and police need to put mechanisms into place to deal with it."

The burglary statistics are mirrored across West Yorkshire as a whole, with 88.3 per cent of burglaries - 44,765 out of 50,656 - unsolved.

Shipley MP Philip Davies (Con) blamed the courts, saying they should come down harder on burglars.

"West Yorkshire has long been a hotspot for burglary," he added.

"It has long been known that detection rates for burglary are pretty hopeless.

"But it is important that burglars, once caught, are properly punished, because the chances are they are not on their first offence."

But he was it was too easy to just police could do better.

"It is not that easy to catch burglars. They could have been wearing gloves or whatever. It is often very difficult to get any forensic evidence," he said.

David Ward, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, said he had been a victim of burglary.

"I have been through it myself, unfortunately. I never heard anything at all after the initial meeting with police. We lost quite a lot," he said.

Despite his own experience, Mr Ward said he believed the high number of undetected burglaries could be misleading as the same person could be responsible for several crimes.

Of the 14,015 burglaries reported, 763 resulted in a charge or summons, 62 ended with a caution, 396 were taken into consideration, ten were dealt with by way of community resolution and 331 are ongoing investigations.

Supt Bisset said: "I believe that one victim of burglary is too many but the reduction in crime does mean that people in Bradford are now safer and less at risk of becoming a victim of burglary in their homes than they were two years ago."

COMMENT: WE CAN ALL DO MORE TO HELP CUT BURGLARIES

He said police used technology and "more intelligent policing" to focus efforts on areas and times when burglary was more prevalent.

"We will throw all we have at protecting vulnerable people. There is a world of difference between an 88-year-old woman being burgled and a derelict warehouse being burgled," he said.

He said the public could help by using simple crime prevention tips and joining neighbourhood watch schemes.

Supt Bisset said police arrested four burglary suspects every day in the district and also praised the Recorder of Bradford, Roger Thomas QC, and his colleagues at Bradford Crown Court.

He said: "It is very rare a burglar will get bail from court nowadays. The partners have worked really hard to get where we are."

Meanwhile the city was named as the ninth most at risk city to burglary in a new survey.

The Safety League Table and Burglary Risk Grid was calculated using sales data from The Safe Shop, the UK’s largest home security provider, the population size and the relative burglary rates of each city.