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Residential burglary

Authorised Professional Practice

This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.

First published
Updated
Acquisitive crime
2 mins read

All Home Office police forces will attend every residential burglary of a home, as agreed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in October 2022.

The police have a responsibility to work with partners, homeowners and communities to:

  • bring offenders to justice 
  • reduce the fear of burglary
  • ensure that victims receive a professional response   
  • prevent offences taking place 

Even where it is not possible to identify a suspect, victims want to know the crime has been taken seriously, and that police have taken all reasonable steps to identify and arrest the perpetrator and recover any stolen property.

See a full definition of residential burglary in our Residential burglary practice guide.

An effective police response

An effective police response to residential burglary should include:

  • attendance to all residential burglaries
  • development of intelligence to respond to emerging crime hot spots and help to identify and arrest prolific offenders
  • a victim-focused approach 
  • effective use of golden hour and further investigation actions, following all reasonable lines of enquiry 
  • making timely arrests when appropriate to facilitate search and seizure opportunities and recover stolen goods
  • making effective use of pre- and post-charge bail options to reduce further offending
  • using ‘taking into consideration’ opportunities where appropriate
  • recovering stolen property where possible
  • developing crime prevention and reduction initiatives, problem solving and offender disruption

Further information

For further information see:

These resources should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this APP on Investigation.

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