Just 6% of burglaries are solved by police – but over in Manchester, things have been a bit different
Early morning in south Manchester – and a prolific burglar known to police is arrested for a spate of thefts.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police were granted a warrant to enter and search the home of the man, who is believed to have stolen items from student accommodation.
Enough evidence was seized and examined to charge him on the same day. This was clearly a successful morning for GMP’s officers – something they’re witnessing more frequently – but across the country it’s a rarity.
Only 6% of burglaries a year are solved by police across England and Wales – a shockingly low figure that has decreased over the last few years. But in Manchester things have been a bit different over the past 15 months, and the picture is changing.
The police’s commitment to attend every single home burglary – introduced in July 2021 – is proving a success and so it’s a model adopted by every police chief across the country.
Data shared with Sky News by GMP revealed that, over the last 12 months, arrests related to burglaries have risen by 52%.
It comes as police chiefs across the country vowed that officers will attend “all at-home burglaries” for the first time earlier this month.
Superintendent Chris Foster, the force’s lead for burglary, said: “We need to get that public confidence back so we’re working hard to improve all the basic standards like getting to see someone when they are burgled, having a police officer attending and doing a thorough investigation and then tying up all those links using partners so we’ve got a proper outcome for the victim.”
He added: “We’re doing a good job at getting to people. We’re getting to 94% of all burglaries and nearly 100% of residential burglaries.
“There’s ways and means you can do it and once you do some problem solving around it hopefully those numbers and demands will decrease, but you’ve got to give it that focus.”
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But some victims are fed up and have lost confidence in the police.
Martin McLaughlin runs a charity shop in Bolton. He says it’s been burgled eight times in the last 12 months – within little or no action – he’s given up on reporting incidents all together.
He told Sky News: “It sometimes feels like if you put it on a plate for them and say we’ve got this and we’ve got that, even when there’s CCTV and even when there’s been witnesses, they say ‘we can’t pursue anything because there’s not enough evidence’.
“When you ring them up, all you get is a crime number. I don’t need a crime number, I need them to stop the people who are causing damage to the charity shop.”
GMP admitted it needed to do more in order to convince people like Martin.
As forces across the country adopt the model of attending every burglary, they could be faced with huge resourcing issues.
Marc Jones, chair of the association of police and crime commissioners, said: “It is going to be a challenge, particularly in large urban areas, but it is the right thing to do.
“Police forces have to make choices and they make choices every day on what the priority is going to be.
“Police chiefs had made this a priority, they have collectively agreed they will meet this challenge and they will be held accountable for delivering it.”
Burglary is a crime deeply invasive and often terribly traumatic – the anguish of a case unsolved only adds to it.
With pressure mounting on police to improve their response, it’s hoped this landmark agreement will bring about change.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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