Two in five crimes closed unsolved with no suspect in Yorkshire last year, figures reveal

Nearly quarter of a million crimes in Yorkshire last year were closed with police unable to identify a suspect – Crime Correspondent Susie Beever takes a look at the figures and the impact of unsolved crime on victims
By Susie Beever
Published 22nd Aug 2020, 06:00 BST
Nearly quarter of a million crimes reported to police in Yorkshire were closed with no suspect identified last year, figures have revealed. Picture: SWNSNearly quarter of a million crimes reported to police in Yorkshire were closed with no suspect identified last year, figures have revealed. Picture: SWNS
Nearly quarter of a million crimes reported to police in Yorkshire were closed with no suspect identified last year, figures have revealed. Picture: SWNS

Two out of every five crimes reported to police in Yorkshire last year went unsolved, statistics have revealed.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that while 603,401 offences were recorded by the region’s four police forces in 2019, 240,587 were shut with no suspects identified.

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You can read the full special report on The Yorkshire Post's in-built interactive feature here.

The figures include an average of 70 per cent of burglaries closed with no justice for victimsThe figures include an average of 70 per cent of burglaries closed with no justice for victims
The figures include an average of 70 per cent of burglaries closed with no justice for victims

It includes seven in 10 burglaries which were closed unsolved in Yorkshire & the Humber last year, with as many as 84 per cent of burglaries being closed in some parts of the region.

One victim of burglary, whose independent business in West Yorkshire has been targeted four times in the space of a year, told how officers did not even contact him to let him know his case had been shelved.

Among the unsolved cases were more than 3,000 sexual assaults and rapes, with Victims Commissioner Vera Baird QC telling The Yorkshire Post that she feared the low rates of prosecution meant that survivors were not seeing "the point" in coming forward.

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A criminologist has shed light on why rural police force areas such as North Yorkshire have lower rates of unsolved cases and of crime in general when compared with their more densely populated counterparts, such as West and South Yorkshire.

Police forces in Yorkshire have meanwhile reflected on the figures, describing how they prioritise the cases which have the most realistic prospect of arrests and how resources mean they cannot properly investigate every single crime reported.

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