PEOPLE in the county have a much higher chance of being burgled on Christmas Day, new figures show.

Data analysed by the Telegraph & Argus from a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request sent to West Yorkshire Police showed there are six times more burglaries on December 25 compared to an average day.

The figures show the amount of recorded burglaries in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, as well as on Christmas Day in those years.

There were 152 recorded crimes of this type over the past five Christmas Days – at 101 residential homes and 51 business or community properties.

The most Christmas Day burglaries over the five-year period happened in 2018 (46 – 28 residential and 18 business and community).

There were 43 in 2017 (26 residential and 17 business and community), 23 in 2019 (18 and 5), 22 in 2020 (17 and 5) and 18 (12 and 6).                      

West Yorkshire Police recorded 8,706 burglaries in the past five years, which works out at 4.77 on average per day.

The average amount of burglaries per Christmas Day was 30.4 over the same period.

There were more than five times as many residential burglaries on Christmas Days (20.2) compared to an average day in the past five years (3.56).

Last year, there were 12 residential burglaries on Christmas Day, which was just under five times more than on an average day that year (2.41).

Generally the amount of burglaries has come down over the years, as well as on Christmas Day.

There were 2,270 recorded in 2017, compared to 1,210 last year, while there were 43 on December 25 in 2017 and 18 on the same day last year.

But more than 80 per cent (83) of all the burglaries recorded over the five-year period ended up with no suspect being identified at the end of the investigation.

It is a similar story for burglaries on Christmas Days – with 78 per cent of all the recorded crimes ending without an identified suspect and 81 per cent of home burglaries finishing with the same outcome.

Last year, three quarters of the burglaries on Christmas Day ended up with no suspect being identified.

West Yorkshire Police runs a burglary advice campaign called “Easy Street”.

It was developed to encourage residents to think about two things: what makes it inviting for criminals to target certain properties and streets, and the importance of reviewing home security.

The Telegraph & Argus asked West Yorkshire Police for a comment but the force did not respond.