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.”
Read more:
Police watchdog condemns low burglary and theft clear-up rates
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.
A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.
Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.
Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences
He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Moment police arrest student guilty of rape
The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police
The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.
A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.
The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.
Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.
“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.
“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.
“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”
A woman has pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of four paddleboarders on a river in Pembrokeshire.
Paddleboarding instructor Nerys Lloyd, 39, conducted a stand up paddle tour during extremely hazardous conditions on the River Cleddau in the West Wales town of Haverfordwest in October 2021.
Andrea Powell, 41, Morgan Rogers, 24 and Nicola Wheatley, 40 – and Lloyd’s fellow instructor Paul O’Dwyer, 42 – died after getting into difficulty.
At the time of the tragedy there had been heavy flooding and severe weather warnings were in place.
Lloyd, 39, who was the owner and sole director of Salty Dog Co Ltd, spoke to confirm her name before pleading guilty on Wednesday to all five counts, including an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Police were called to the weir in Haverfordwest after reports of paddleboarders in distress.
As the group approached the weir, the three participants were pulled over the top and became trapped.
Mr O’Dwyer initially exited the water, but re-entered the river in an attempt to rescue the others.
Nerys Lloyd (centre, on crutches) leaving Swansea Crown Court. Pic: PA
Death has ‘left a void’
Emergency services attended and Mr O’Dwyer, from Port Talbot, Ms Rogers, from Merthyr Tydfil, and Ms Wheatley, from Swansea, were declared dead at the scene.
Ms Powell, from Bridgend, was taken to hospital but died six days later.
The four victims died of drowning/immersion, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
After the incident, Ms Wheatley’s family paid tribute to her and said her death had “left a void in [their] lives that will never be filled”.
Ms Rogers’s family said she was the “best that she could be” and would be “sadly missed”.
The family of Mr O’Dwyer described him as “a devoted husband, father, son and brother”, whose “passion for the water” began at an early age.
Ms Powell was someone who “loved life”, her family said, as they thanked those who had shown them support.
Pic: OpenStreetMap
‘Avoidable tragedy’
Lisa Rose, specialist prosecutor with the CPS’s special crime division, said it was an “avoidable tragedy”.
“Despite going to check the state of the river before departing on the tour, Nerys Lloyd failed to inspect the weir,” she said.
Ms Rose said there was “no safety briefing or formal risk assessments” and that Lloyd “was not qualified to take paddleboarders out in such hazardous conditions”.
“Final decisions to continue with the event were Lloyd’s decision, and as a result she held complete and entire responsibility,” Ms Rose added.
Sentencing to take place in April
“I hope these convictions provide some sense of justice for those affected and our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims at this time.”
Read more from Sky News:
PhD student convicted of raping 10 women
Liam Payne’s girlfriend ‘still working on accepting’ his death
Why is Noel Clarke suing The Guardian?
Lloyd, of Aberavon, was charged with the offences on 4 October last year.
She was granted unconditional bail by Judge Mrs Justice Stacey until her sentencing hearing on 15 April.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports11 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway