OVERWHELMING PUBLIC EXPECTATION THAT THE POLICE SHOULD ATTEND A DOMESTIC BURGLARY

Recent controversy surrounded the comments made by the new President of the  National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) Sara Thornton, who said that the public should  not expect to see a police officer after reporting certain crimes such as burglary.

Allianz research has found:

- 90% of the public expect the police to come to their home following a burglary

- 56% of people expect the police to arrive within one hour of the burglary being reported

- Only 15% of people have any optimism that the burglar will be caught.

A survey of 1,500 people commissioned this week by one of the UK’s largest insurers, Allianz, has revealed that a significant majority of people expect the police to do their duty and attend the victim’s home following a domestic burglary.

Allianz also found that the police play a valuable part in helping people get over the trauma of a burglary. 76% of respondents said they felt the police coming to their homes and taking details of the burglary would help because it would feel like ‘something was being done’.

Getting at least some of their belongings back might be of some consolation to the victims of a burglary, but unfortunately the results of a recent Freedom of Information Request submitted by Allianz shows there is little prospect of good news. In response to the FOI, the Home Office reported that stolen items are not recovered in 87% of reported domestic burglaries. Of the 13% where there is a recovery, the value of the goods recovered is less than half the value of the items stolen.

David Watkins, Allianz’s Head of Property Claims said:

"The police clearly have a role to play in helping victims get over the psychological trauma of being burgled. Our research shows that having your home and your sense of safety violated by a burglar can be emotionally traumatic so it makes perfect sense that the presence of the police is reassuring."

During 2015, Allianz has been conducting research into domestic burglary and its emotional impact on the victims and the company found:

"As an insurer we are used to dealing with thousands of burglary claims every year so we know how traumatic it can be for our customers, particularly when they tell us that the stolen items had great sentimental value. We try and help them by providing helpful information and by highlighting the support available from the charity, Victim Support."

He added:

"Prevention is always better than cure so we would encourage people to review their home security measures to see if anything can be improved, such as fitting better locks, security lighting or even having a burglar alarm installed. We know that there is more people can do because our survey also found that nearly half of people either improved or added locks to their home after they had suffered a burglary."

Ends.

Media Notes:

1. The survey looking at the public’s views on the police attending domestic burglaries was carried out on Tuesday, 11 August. The survey was carried out by the independent market research company, OnePoll.

2. The statistics relating to the recovery of stolen items following a domestic burglary were provided by The Home Office on 29, July 2015, following a Freedom of Information request submitted by Allianz.

3. Allianz is one of the UK’s largest insurers and insurers approximately 350,000 homes. In 2014 Allianz paid out over £1.2bn in claims to its customers.

4. Media Contact: Mark Bishop, Corporate Communications Manager.

Email: mark.bishop@allianz.co.uk

Telephone: 01483 552731

Mobile: 07802 925053