The number of home burglaries in Denmark may be falling, but it hasn’t got anything to do with actual police work, according to Berlingske newspaper.
Police resources are so stretched they have been forced to deprioritise home burglary cases, which has led to a considerable decline in the number of solved cases.
“We are generally under pressure across the line because of the large number of employees we are using due to the threat of terror and the unique situation at the borders regarding the refugees and migrants,” Svend Larsen, a police inspector with the state police Rigspolitiet, told Berlingske.
“We have accordingly deprioritised burglaries.”
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Behind Nordic neighbours
According to police sources, solving a home burglary case is deprioritised if the perpetrator has left no evidence at the scene. The incident will be noted so the victims can be compensated by the insurance companies, but that’s as far as it goes.
Last year, just 6.7 percent of 36,342 home burglaries were solved – down from 8.3 percent in 2011.
The clearance rate is considerably lower than Norway and Sweden, where twice as many home burglary cases are solved.
