Police Have Stopped Trying to Solve Crime, Says Former Chief Prosecutor
New crime figures have exposed a troubling reality: the police are failing to solve 92 per cent of all burglaries, and mobile phone theft is being treated so casually that it has effectively been decriminalised. Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal warns that British policing is drifting dangerously away from public expectations, risking a collapse in trust.
A Systemic Failure Worse Than Incompetence
There is a type of failure that surpasses mere incompetence—it is the kind that has become so normalised and accepted that those responsible no longer feel any shame. This is precisely where Britain stands today with theft and burglary. The latest statistics are not shocking; instead, they confirm what millions of victims already know: when someone breaks into your home or snatches your phone, the state has quietly decided not to bother.
The Alarming Data on Burglaries and Phone Theft
The data reveals that police left 92 per cent of burglaries unsolved last year. In one-third of England and Wales, not a single break-in was solved throughout the entire year—a result of zero, not just poor performance. Mobile phone theft has moved beyond being under-policed into a realm that requires a new term altogether. Fewer than one in 100 cases led to a charge, amounting to just one per cent. At this level, it is not enforcement; it is mere administration, where the crime is real but the response is reduced to paperwork.
The Erosion of the Rule of Law
As a former chief prosecutor, Nazir Afzal worked within a system that, despite its flaws, upheld the principle that crime must have consequences. This principle is the foundational support of justice; remove it, and nothing holds. The statistics indicate that for vast categories of everyday crime, this support has vanished. Burglary and phone theft have not been formally decriminalised, but enforcement has gradually and quietly ceased through years of managed decline.
Proven Solutions and Systemic Neglect
Afzal has long advocated for a dedicated unit to tackle phone theft, pointing to London's targeted operation against organised theft networks as evidence of success. This initiative reduced phone theft in the capital by approximately 10,000 cases in a single year, demonstrating that focused and intelligent enforcement yields results. Similarly, bank robbery has decreased by 90 per cent over the past decade because banks are now carried in people's hands. Treating mobile phone theft with the same seriousness as bank robbery—with its own specialised task force—could protect devices as effectively as money was once safeguarded.
However, the police are not solely to blame. There is little incentive to invest effort in burglary investigations when suspects face three-year waits for court dates and receive sentences that barely register. The system has ceased to reward good investigative work, leading to its gradual abandonment.
Practical Fixes for Immediate Impact
There are practical solutions that do not require years of structural reform:
- Enforce minimum investigation standards for every home burglary, including attending the scene, recovering forensics, and avoiding case closures within 48 hours without explanation.
- Utilise existing technology, such as a national stolen phone register integrated with Trading Standards, to collapse the market that makes phone theft profitable.
- Target organised crime networks, as stolen phones are often shipped to destinations like Dubai, China, and Romania.
Government Promises and Public Despair
The government has published a policing white paper promising the most significant structural changes since the 1970s, which is long overdue. Yet, for the family whose door was kicked in last night, strategy cannot replace immediate response. They, and everyone who has reported a crime only to hear nothing back, deserve leaders who look at these numbers and feel genuine shame.
The Belief in Justice Is Fading
Afzal argues that the rule of law is not an abstract concept but what people experience when they report a crime and believe action will follow. This belief is eroding case by case, with 393 burglary investigations abandoned every single day. When the public stops believing the law will act, the law has already begun to fail.
Nazir Afzal OBE is a former chief crown prosecutor.
