The street with 56 burglaries and none solved
By David Spereall, BBC News
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Figures suggest 56 burglaries were recorded on one street in Leeds in three years – but police have failed to solve a single one. BBC News went to Wood Lane to find out what residents think about the statistic.
An industrial estate at one end, and at the other, a quaint 19th Century Anglican church and pub.
In the mile and a bit between these local landmarks are more than 300 homes.
Wood Lane, in the south Leeds suburb of Rothwell, is like many other UK streets of its kind, with bus stops, a bakery, shops, a hairdresser and other day-to-day amenities.
But unsolved burglaries are prevalent here.
Research for Channel 4’s Dispatches suggest that 56 break-ins have occurred on the road in the past three years, none of which have resulted in a conviction.
West Yorkshire Police says its burglary detection rates are in line with other parts of the country, but that some offences are unsolved because of a lack of evidence.
One of the victims is Amanda, who has lived around here for 15 years.
Her home was raided last winter, with thieves stealing cash and jewellery.
She says the police were “great” in their initial rapid response to the incident, though she has been left in the dark since.
“They did everything they could do in the first instance,” Amanda explains.
“They came out straight away and you had investigators come out to assess the scene within a matter of hours.
“In terms of anything since, we just presume nothing has happened because we have not heard anything.
“Then again, I don’t really know what to expect because this has never happened to us before.
“You just have to trust the police are doing what they can, and if they find the evidence they can link it to someone.”
Snickets and side roads
Amanda suggests Wood Lane’s geography, encircled as it is by an array of snickets, alleyways and side roads may make it potentially more attractive to burglars needing a quick getaway.
Because of its size and length, it is also reasonable to assume that there would statistically be more incidents on the street than in a cul-de-sac with just a handful of properties.
Amanda says the incident did initially make her feel “less safe” but that she and her family have done what they can to make their home as secure as possible.
She also says a local PCSO has knocked on the door in the months since, which she finds reassuring.
But others are less complimentary about the police presence here, even though the office of Rothwell’s neighbourhood policing team sits on an adjoining road.
Steve Sutton, who has lived on Wood Lane for 18 years, has not been a victim of burglary, but knows residents who have.
“It doesn’t surprise me they haven’t been solved,” he says.
“The police presence is zero. You see them driving up and down very occasionally.”
Steve says the burglaries make you “a bit more conscious” about what is going on, especially as he says some of the thefts have taken place during the day.
But, he adds: “Generally, in terms of other crime it’s a decent area, to be fair.”
Long-serving Liberal Democrat councillor for the area Stewart Golton says there is “frustration” in the community, “because there aren’t enough police to respond to the issues that we’ve got”.
“Those statistics about burglaries are not a surprise, because we encourage people to report crime and then it feels like the crime you do report doesn’t get responded to,” Mr Golton says.
“We appreciate it is hard to catch criminals once they have committed the crime but it would be nice to know there is least an attempt at doing so, because otherwise what is the deterrent for future criminals to not do it?”
On the high street in Rothwell, about five miles south east of the city centre, shoppers echo concerns about a lack of visible police presence and about anti-social behaviour.
Quad bikes, a particular bugbear for many communities across West Yorkshire in recent years, are raised frequently as an issue.
John Graham, who was himself a victim of an unsolved burglary more than a decade ago, says: “They are going round in gangs and a lot of them are wearing balaclavas and masks now.
“I have lived around here for 40 years and it has changed a lot – for the worse.”
‘They feel like outsiders’
Daniel Newton, 34, lives just a stone’s throw from Rothwell town centre and says some of the quad bike issues are caused by young people riding in from nearby Middleton.
But, he suggests, there is a vicious circle of some young offenders committing anti-social behaviour because society ignores them.
“I have found if you try to connect and engage with them, they engage with you in a reasonable way,” he says.
“But they become rebellious because no-one is really engaging with them and they feel like outsiders.
“So it becomes reciprocal.”
Chatting outside Morrisons on the main street are friends Mary Kiernan and Pat Firth.
Ms Firth lives in nearby Lofthouse, but comes into Rothwell to shop.
“I haven’t lived in Rothwell for 18 years, but when we did there was always a PCSO walking down here,” she recalls.
“When we lived here it was a lot different to what it is now.
“I can understand why people get edgy when there’s young groups going around on quad bikes.”
West Yorkshire Police says it recognises “the huge impact” burglaries have on victims and has made “significant investments” to reduce burglaries, which have declined since 2019 in West Yorkshire.
It adds: “We are also committed to attending all home burglaries in line with recently published national guidance.
“Some burglaries are finalised as unsolved because of a lack of evidence or because a suspect cannot be identified.
“Our detection rates are relatively in-line with other police forces in England and Wales, but we continually work to improve the quality of burglary investigations by listening to feedback from victims, looking at new and improved ways of working and training, and upskilling our officers and staff.”
Addressing the wider issues around neighbourhood policing, the force says: “While Rothwell has some officers who work specifically within its community to provide a familiar presence for people, it does not have a set number of allocated officers and is part of a larger Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), which covers the Leeds South area.
“Police officers and staff who work within NPTs are deployed to the areas where they are needed the most, so communities can be provided with reassurance when they need it.”
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