Lack of officers blamed as no burglaries solved in half of the country

OVERWORKED police forces need to be properly funded to tackle the scourge of crime, a union chief warned last night.

- Giles Sheldrick

Steve Hartshorn, chair of the Police Federation, hit out after figures showed not one burglary was solved in nearly half of all neighbourhoods in England and Wales over the past three years.

The data was revealed despite chiefs' previous headline-grabbing promise to attend every domestic break-in to boost detection rates.

Writing in the Express Mr Daily today, Hartshorn said: "Policing is stretched and under pressure like never before as a direct conseof a quence decade of underfunding.

"We have consistently said more officers are needed.