Police in Devon & Cornwall are taking an average of 22 hours to respond to burglary calls, new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.
There is a dramatic 25% increase on response times compared to figures from 2021/22 nationally - but with no comparison figures available for Devon & Cornwall police due to continued faulty IT systems.
Across England, police are taking an average of 9 hours and 8 minutes to show up at the scene when a burglary was reported. This is an 87% increase on burglary response times in 2020/21.
Lib Dem candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, Steve Lodge, believes that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime.
This includes taking more than 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015.
Steve Lodge and the Lib Dems are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and able to focus on responding to neighbourhood crime like burglaries.
Commenting, Steve Lodge, said: “In Devon & Cornwall the response time is 22 hours and 11 minutes – and compare that to Bedfordshire where it's 15 minutes and you have to ask what's going wrong? Only two other forces in the country that response have higher response times.
"Having your home burgled is a traumatic experience, and victims deserve a swift response from the police. Yet thanks to the Conservative Government, this is increasingly out of reach.
“People in Devon & Cornwall deserve to feel safe in their own homes. The fact that traumatised burglary victims are being left waiting for hours, wondering if the police will even arrive, is unacceptable. To think that crucial evidence may be lost in the process too is unforgivable.
“It’s time to finally restore proper community policing, so people can be confident that if they do fall victim to crime, the police will turn up and investigate properly.”
In response, the incumbent Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez said: “When Mr Lodge thinks comparing Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly, the largest territorial police force in England, with Bedfordshire we are in trouble. With 4,000 square miles to cover, 1.8 million population and the largest road network in England here, compared to Bedfordshire’s 477 square miles and much less than 40% of the population.
“Devon and Cornwall have consistently for many years had the lowest burglary rate in the country. While Bedfordshire’s is three times higher.
“The scale of leadership and understanding required for this job appears to be sadly lacking.”
The election for Police & Crime Commissioner takes place on May 2.
