Met police chief Cressida Dick faces backlash after saying solving burglary is a ‘meaningless activity’
New Commissioner said Britain’s top police force could not pour money into engaging in 'meaningless activity'
MET chief Cressida Dick faced a backlash last night after signalling that solving burglaries was now a low priority.
The new Commissioner added Britain’s top police force could not pour money into engaging in “meaningless activity”.
It comes just weeks after the Sun revealed police across the UK have solved only one in ten burglaries since 2011.
Ms Dick said that she wanted to “bear down” on violent crime given a spate of deadly knife attacks. And she said that after £600 million of cutbacks in recent years choices had to be made.
She said: “The public would not for example expect us to investigate a break-in at a shed in the garden in the same way as we investigate a murder.
“We put hugely different resources in.”
She added: “Where there are no investigative opportunities after our first contact with the public, I think the public would actually prefer us to get on with dealing with something where we can have a criminal justice outcome.
“We will take a first report, and we will look at what we have got and we will try to support the victim in whatever way we can.
“But we are not going to go in for meaningless activity.”
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The Sun revealed that just five per cent of 2.1 million burglaries in Britain since 2011 have resulted in a suspect being charged.
And of the £2 billion in goods and valuables stolen in domestic and commercial raids, only seven per cent - £137 million-worth – was recovered.
At the time, break-in victim Vince Scott, 44, said: “The police just don’t seem to care.”
Lib Dem chief Tim Farron last night said: “The Police are screening out calls and don’t seem to care. This is frankly unacceptable.
“Behind this colossal figure are victims who haven’t received justice. I hope that coppers look at these cases again with some urgency.”
He added: “The thin blue line is getting even thinner due to Tory cuts to policing budgets. We cannot treat burglary with just a casual shrug, it is a vicious crime.
“Visible policing has all but disappeared apart from our town centres, leaving many communities throughout the country feeling unsafe. This has to change.”
Top cop's diversity promise
CRESSIDA Dick yesterday revealed she is gay — and vowed diversity would be a key part of her regime.
The new Met chief said she lives with a South London police inspector, Helen.
They are thought to have met as work pals in 2011.
Gay activist Peter Tatchell hailed her low-key declaration. He said: “She has broken two glass ceilings — the first female and first lesbian Met Police Commissioner.”
She also vowed diversity issues “will mark out my Commissionership”. She told a radio show: “We need confidence from all our public and there’s some way to go. “You’ll see me doing an enormous amount to try to improve confidence.”
By Mike Sullivan, Crime Editor