Three quarters of car theft victims don’t see a police officer: Data reveals some forces attended fewer than a tenth of call-outs in the first half of 2023 – so how did they do in your area?

On average, police officers in England attended less than a quarter of car theft crime scenes in the first half of this year, new data shows.

More than 51,000 vehicles were reported stolen between January and June, with owners visiting an officer in person in only 23 percent of cases.

Three squads – Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Cheshire – were personally present at nine per cent of crime scenes, while a further six squads were present at less than a fifth of calls, according to a Liberal Democrat freedom of information (FOI) request.

In contrast, two police officers were personally present at every report of car crime, although in one of them, the City of London, there were only two. Cleveland, in the northeast, dispatched officers to every one of the 562 reported car thefts, and Kent was present at 99 percent of the 394 carjackings.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael told MailOnline: “People deserve confidence that if they are the victim of a crime, the police will take their report seriously, and that means at least getting to the scene.” It’s hard to feel that kind of confidence now.

“Time and time again we have seen frontline policing pushed back by the Conservative Government. These shocking numbers are just some of the consequences our communities face as a result.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said: “People deserve confidence that if they are the victim of a crime, the police will take their report seriously, and that means at least getting to the scene. It’s hard to feel that kind of confidence now.”

“It’s just not good enough. It’s time for the Home Secretary to finally restore community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on tackling crimes like car theft.”

The figures show a huge variety of car theft reports across different parts of the force, reflecting different geographical and population sizes.

Almost 25,000 car thefts were reported to London’s Metropolitan Police, compared with just two in the City of London, which has a largely commercial area and a small resident population.

A total of 81 thefts were recorded, mostly in rural North Yorkshire, and 101 in Cumbria. But there were more than 8,000 in the West Midlands and almost 3,300 in urban West Yorkshire.

The figures refer to the six months before former Interior Minister Sulla Braverman and the police reached an agreement to investigate all crimes.

Officers were told there was no crime too minor to investigate and police would be forced to act if there was strong evidence to investigate, including CCTV footage, car dash cams or phone tracking.

This approach would end the practice of ignoring offenses considered minor, including car theft, shoplifting, telephone robberies and criminal damage.

Ms Braverman said no crime should be considered minor and insisted police had the resources to investigate all offenses without diverting efforts from serious investigations.

But last month the chairman of the Police Federation described the promise as unfulfillable and said investigating every crime was “not working”.

These are the 10 parts of the country that will be hit hardest by a rise in car thefts in 2022. The ratio is based on the number of car thefts per 1,000 vehicles registered in each area.

Steve Hartshorne, a Metropolitan Police officer involved in the armed response, said his own colleagues only gave him a crime number after his own car was broken into.

And some police officers told MailOnline there was no point in checking all reports of car thefts.

Chief Superintendent Jakey Whittred, head of Bedfordshire Police, said: “The Government has set a clear target for officers to reduce crime in the area by 20 per cent and we have achieved a 36 per cent reduction in crime in Bedfordshire.” We are also ranked sixth among all police forces in the country in solving burglaries.

“While we will be present at the scene if there are investigative capabilities available, such as CCTV or forensic capabilities, we also have alternative methods of conducting investigations without the need for a physical presence. For example, we can add vehicle data to the Police National Computer (PNC) database.”

A Cambridge Police spokeswoman added: “We are committed to tackling crime, including vehicle theft, but we often have to make difficult decisions about whether an officer should be present at the scene, balancing the resources at our disposal with competing demands.

“Additionally, it may be clear from the first call that visiting the scene does not provide any evidence and the investigation can continue without a physical presence.”

And a spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police, which attended 13 per cent of car theft incidents, said: “Attendance depends on the threat, harm and risk posed to the public and incidents where crime occurs will always take priority.

“When it comes to car theft, there is often no room for inspection because the car has already been stolen. In these circumstances, officers may consider carrying out a search of the area if appropriate, as well as other inquiries as part of the investigation, including CCTV reviews and house-to-house visits.

“This will not be recorded in the incident log as being present at the scene, so it does not mean no action was taken or indicate whether officers visited other locations following the observations or carried out further investigations.”

A Surrey Police spokesman said: “The decision as to whether a police unit will be sent to a call is based on a variety of factors and is calculated according to the LIVE risk matrix.” THRIVE stands for Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigation, Vulnerability and Involvement and provides a framework for both police presence and investigations. .

“Police resources are limited, so calls where threat, harm or risk factors to members of the public are considered to be higher will be considered as priority when it comes to attendance. Incidents in which the offender has already left the scene and there is no immediate threat to the public automatically receive a lower THRIVE score and the officer cannot be dispatched to attend. However, this does not mean that an investigation is not being carried out.”