Star comment: If police are going to attend every burglary, sentences must be more severe too

Anyone who has suffered a burglary will confirm that it is anything but a minor crime. Yet the police’s prospects of catching burglars are almost negligible. All too often, victims are left alone to pick up the pieces with little more than a call to Victim Support to assist.

The reality is that burglaries have a huge impact on victims. Those who carry them out inflict a huge amount of damage and are normally serial offenders. They cause damage to property, steal items of emotional importance and leave psychological scars.