ESSEX police need more resources to reverse the rise in burglary response times, according to Martin Goss, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Colchester.

New figures released by 26 of the country’s police forces revealed the average time taken by officers responding to incidents of burglaries in the county was 6hrs and 34mins in 2022/23 compared to 5hrs and 36mins the previous year.

That represents a 17% increase, with the average response time across England being 9hrs and 8mins – a 25% increase when compared to the previous year and an 87% increase on burglary response times in 2020/21.

Martin said: “Having your home burgled is a traumatic experience, and victims deserve a swift response from the police. Yet thanks to the Conservative Government, this is increasingly out of reach.

“People deserve to feel safe in their own homes. The fact that traumatised burglary victims are being left waiting for hours, wondering if the police will even arrive, is unacceptable. To think that crucial evidence may be lost in the process, too, is unforgivable.

“It’s time to finally restore proper community policing, so people can be confident that if they do fall victim to crime, the police will turn up and investigate properly.”

The Liberal Democrats have argued that years of ineffective resourcing by the Conservative Government have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime.

This includes taking more than 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015.

The party is calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and able to focus on responding to neighbourhood crime like burglaries.