Bungling police fail to identify crooks in more than HALF the crimes reported to them according to latest figures
- Police failed to identify a single suspect in more than half of all reported crimes
- Out of 4.2million reported crimes in 2016/17, just 2.2m suspects were identified
- Greater Manchester Police failed to identify a suspect in 65 per cent of all cases
- Same force struggled to solve burglaries, with no suspect in 90 per cent of cases
Police forces across the country are failing to identify a suspect in more than half of all reported crimes, it has been claimed.
Official statistics show how hundreds of thousands of crimes, including burglary, shoplifting, robbery and vehicle theft, are going unpunished.
Shockingly, only 20 per cent of all cases end with a suspect receiving some sort of punishment.
A breakdown of the figures shows how police performance varies widely among forces across England and Wales, with victims facing a postcode lottery on justice.
Official statistics show how hundreds of thousands of crimes, including burglary, shoplifting, robbery and vehicle theft, are going unpunished
The startling figures were revealed following an investigation by The Sun into 10,000 pages of Crime Outcomes figures documented by the Home Office.
It shows how of the 4.2million crimes reported to police forces in 2016/2017, suspects were identified in only 48 per cent of cases.
Among the worst overall performing forces was the Metropolitan Police, which failed to name a suspect in 60 per cent of 769,270 cases.
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Merseyside Police also struggled to crack the majority of its crimes, with 58 per cent of 110,223 without a suspect.
Greater Manchester Police failed to name a single suspect in 174,152 cases out of 267,478 - representing a rate of failure of 65 per cent.
The statistics were all the more shocking when broken down into certain crimes, with Greater Manchester Police struggling badly to solve burglaries.
The Metropolitan Police was the second worst force for identifying suspects for vehicle taking, at 84.06 per cent, while West Midlands came top with 88.38 per cent
No suspect was identified 90.65 per cent of the time, with West Midlands Police polling second worst performing with 90.07 per cent.
The Metropolitan Police topped the worst offenders list when it came to solving robbery cases, with 76.09 per cent of crimes still without a suspect.
The force was also the second worst force for identifying suspects for vehicle taking, at 84.06 per cent, while West Midlands came top with 88.38 per cent.
Police forces claim the statistics can be miscued by the public as suspects may be identified at a later date.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told the newspaper: ‘I’ve never heard anything like this on this scale. But if one force is far better than others at detecting burglars or whatever, they need to share their best practice so we no longer get a postcode lottery.
‘The public must lobby Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure they get the policing that they deserve.’
Shadow police and crime minister Louise Haigh said: ‘The public will be horrified so many criminals get off scot-free.’
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