Elliot Colburn – 2023 Parliamentary Question on Domestic Burglaries

The parliamentary question asked by Elliot Colburn, the Conservative MP for Carshalton and Wallington, in the House of Commons on 10 January 2023.

Elliot Colburn (Carshalton and Wallington) (Con)

Carshalton and Wallington residents are deeply concerned about burglaries. I welcome the Metropolitan police’s commitment to attend all burglaries, but will my right hon. Friend outline what his Department is doing to ensure that those who are arrested receive appropriate sentences?

Dominic Raab

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I can tell him that domestic burglary has actually fallen by half since 2010, and the Metropolitan police’s operational tenacity is one element of that. On sentencing, the maximum sentence is 14 years. That is obviously an individual decision for judges, but I can also tell him that since 2010 the average sentence has increased by nine months, from 22.6 months to 31.6 months. There has been a step change and an increase in sentences for burglary, as well as the measures we are taking on police and law enforcement.