Recent Home Office figures for England and Wales have brought to light a concerning reality - only 5.7% of crimes last year resulted in a charge or court summons. The data covering the

12 months from April 2022 indicates a small improvement compared to the previous year but raises significant concerns about the criminal justice system's effectiveness.

Labour has strongly criticized the handling of crimes, calling it a "total collapse and calamity" as over 90% of crimes remain unsolved. Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, Jess Phillips, voiced her concern over the shortage of detectives in the country and pledged to recruit more from other sectors if Labour wins the next general election.

Notably, the charge rate for sex offences stands at 3.6%, with just 2.1% for rape, and only 6.5% of robberies end with a suspect being charged. Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has promised that if her party gains power, they will work to improve the solving of crimes and take measures to address the shortage of detectives by recruiting from various backgrounds.

However, the government, on the other hand, contends that communities are safer than 13 years ago when they came into power, citing significant declines in neighbourhood crimes like burglary, robbery, and theft. The Policing Minister, Chris Philp, accused Labour of being "soft on crime and soft on criminals" and emphasized the increase in adult rape convictions and the presence of more police officers under the Conservative government. Photo by Cheeseburger296, Wikimedia commons.