Thieves are becoming more brazen as thefts during the daytime reached a four-year record high, new figures show.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed more than seven in ten (71 percent) of pickpocketing incidents and nearly half of bike thefts (46 percent) took place in the morning or afternoon.
The data, published in the annual British Crime Survey, is compared with previous highs of 63 percent and 41 percent respectively in 2020.
The trend is also the same for other types of thefts including vehicle related incidents and burglaries in outbuildings such as sheds.
Figures show daytime attempts of theft of a vehicle rose from 15 percent in 2020, the last time the survey was undertaken, to 21 percent in 2023.
Pickpocketing or personal theft is among one of the most common forms of theft during the day (Stock image)
The data, published in the annual British Crime Survey, shows bike thefts are becoming more common in the day
Meanwhile, burglaries in outbuildings hit a record high of 25 per cent last year, up from 20 percent in 2020.
Daytime arson attacks and other criminal damage increased from 32 per cent four years ago to 39 per cent being committed during the day last year.
The British Crime Survey is based on questioning around 35,000 people every year.
Former victims commissioner Dame Vera Baird, said the data suggested that criminals felt ‘free to go about what they want to do’ without fear of being caught or spotted by police on the beat.
Former Police Scotland Superintendent Martin Gallagher said the figures ‘should not come as a surprise’ due to the UK’s model of policing.
He explained to MailOnline: ‘‘A ‘response’ model of policing, as currently mainly utilised in the UK, means that police respond to crime, rather than prevent it, or proactively target criminals.
‘We used to. While uniform foot patrol has decreased, and the deterrent effect this brought have waned, covert tactics that can be employed by the police have also been in decline.
‘Stolen bikes need to be sold, and if you have detectives targeting those involved in the trade and getting them imprisoned the thefts will decrease.
‘Similarly, daytime crime will be deterred by targeted uniform patrols and criminals caught by plain clothes officers acting proactively who identify and conduct operations against prolific offenders.
‘The police will know who many of these criminals are. We live in the age of ring doorbells, CCTV and dashcams. There are many new opportunities available to assist investigations. The police just need the time, resource and will to utilise them.’
Thieves are also increasingly eyeing up vehicles to steal during the day (Stock image)
Burglary is more common on outbuildings during the day rather than in the main home (Stock image)
Rory Geoghegan, a former No 10 policy adviser and founder of the Public Safety Foundation, told The Telegraph: ‘These figures indicate criminals are not just becoming more brazen, but they also appear to be targeting higher value items – such as expensive cars, bikes and jewellery.
‘The best thing the Government could do to help cut this crime would be to ensure these prolific criminals receive prison sentences – rather than the suspended sentences currently proposed in the Government’s forthcoming legislation.’
Yesterday, MailOnline reported how a brazen thief used an angle grinder to cut through a bike lock in just two seconds .
The thief can be seen in broad daylight walking up to the bicycle before pulling out the cordless power tool.
The theft took place on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch, east London.
One onlooker filmed the shocking crime on their mobile phone in a 14 second video.
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said of the latest figures: ‘The decimation of neighbourhood policing and a plummeting charge rate has left criminals feeling like they can operate with impunity.
‘That is the Conservatives’ abysmal record on law and order – more criminals being let off and more victims being let down.
‘Labour will put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat in our communities and reverse the catastrophic collapse in the proportion of crimes being solved.’
In January, the Liberal Democrats claimed that bike theft had effectively been ‘decriminalised’ as more than 365,000 cases went unsolved in the last five years.
This is the moment the hooded thief pulls a battery-powered angle grinder from his rucksack
Witnesses nearby look on as sparks fly from the cordless power tool
Crime data showed an average of 200 bicycle thefts a day took place in which no culprit was apprehended, the party said.
The 365,706 unsolved crimes since 2019 amounted to 89 per cent of all bike thefts over the period. Only two per cent of cases – 8,437 incidents – led to a suspect being charged.
The party’s home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael MP said: ‘These shocking figures will leave people wondering if bike theft has been decriminalised.
‘Whether it’s used for commuting, family days out or exercise, people’s bikes are a hugely valued possession.
‘So bike thefts leave victims feeling both out of pocket and distressed, and knowing the thief will probably get away with it just adds salt into the wound.’
It was also revealed that police abandon investigations into four crimes every minute without tracking down the culprits.
The number of inquiries closed by officers without identifying a suspect has rocketed by nearly 250,000 year-on-year.
Forces gave upon investigations into 2,306,623 reported crimes in the year to June last year, including hundreds of thousands of violent offences and burglaries, up 13 per cent on the previous 12 months.
The official Home Office figures are equivalent to more than 6,300 every day on average, or one every 14 seconds.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Since 2010 our communities are safer, with neighbourhood crimes such as burglary and robbery down 48 per cent.
‘We have delivered on our promise to recruit 20,000 additional police officers, which means there are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak before the police uplift.
‘But we are clear that charge rates need to improve. We welcome the police’s commitment to attend the scene of every home burglary and expect them to take a zero tolerance approach to all crimes by pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry to bring more perpetrators to justice.’
Have you been affected by a theft? Email [email protected]
