No burglaries solved in Chesterfield area hit 69 times in three years, figures show

Ashover and New Tupton were hit by home invaders nearly 70 times between May 2019 and April 2021, and not a single case was brought to court.

Data from police.uk also shows that out of 45 burglaries in Inkersall Green and Duckmanton just one was solved.

In Dunston there were 190 burglaries over the three-year period with just six resulting in court action - meaning nearly 97 per cent of incidents remain unsolved.

The figures were revealed by a Telegraph analysis of crime statistics for 32,000 neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

They show that nationwide 16,000 of them - 46 per cent - had all their burglary cases in the past three years closed with no suspect caught and charged by police.

Almost 2,000 of the neighbourhoods - each containing approximately 3,000 residents - recorded at least 25 burglaries but none were solved.

The worst neighbourhood - Sheffield’s Parson Cross - went three years without any of its 104 burglaries being solved.

New Arley and Fillongley, in Warwickshire, had 99 unsolved cases.

In larger districts covering an average of 7,800 people, one in 15 (6.4 per cent) had no burglaries solved over the past three years.

A Derbyshire Constabulary spokesman said burglary was a crime that had a “huge impact” on victims.

He added: “We absolutely understand how upsetting and scary it is to feel that your home, your place of safety, has been violated.”

However the spokesman said burglary reports were reviewed based on “threat and risk” posed and the amount of forensic evidence present at the crime scene.

He said: “Many burglaries are undertaken by individuals known to the force and while they may not have been dealt with for an offence in a particular location, they may have been dealt with for other matters and we regularly see a drop off in incidents when these individuals are jailed.

“These figures also do not take into account other charges that may be brought in relation to burglary – such as handling stolen goods – and help ensure that those involved in the theft of items at any point in the chain are dealt with.

“Given the known individuals that commit burglaries the force also works closely with partner agencies to try and stop the cycle of offending and address the reasons behind them committing such acts.

“While the figures in Derbyshire are broadly in line with national statistics the force is clear in its intention to provide as good a level of service to our communities and we are striving to increase our burglary detection rates.”

Data used in the Telegraph investigation was obtained from the police crime statistics website police.uk.

The figures exclude cases where investigations are on-going, no update has been supplied or location is not provided.

Unsolved crimes are defined as any crime where an individual was not charged or given an out-of-court sanction.

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