If you're a criminal, times are good.

New figures suggest you're unlikely to be caught, with only one in 15 crimes reported in Greater Manchester ending in a charge, and fewer still in a conviction or jail sentence.

Criminals are 'laughing'.

And police, after almost a decade of cuts because of austerity, don't seem to be able to do much to stop the rising tide of crime.

More than half of Greater Manchester's magistrates' courts have closed down, making way for housing, while the criminal justice system in general is in a state of 'cardiac arrest', according to one of Manchester's leading QCs.

They paint a picture of a dwindling number of overworked police and prosecutors who are being overwhelmed and forced to pick the easy cases.

It all leaves the decent, law-abiding people of Greater Manchester at the mercy of burglars, robbers and thieves who seem to be able to operate with virtual impunity.

(Image: David Sutherland)

Property manager Lee Wallwork, 49, certainly thinks so.

Brazen thieves reversed their car into the driveway of his home in Worsley, hooked up his £10,000 caravan and simply towed it away. That was a month ago and the caravan is still missing.

He called police but wonders why he bothered.

Following his initial call to GMP, he was told there would be no investigation as there were 'no lines of enquiry' even though he had emailed officers CCTV of the crime including the car's number plate which was registered to an address in Salford.

He complained and an apologetic PC called two days later and promised that there would be an investigation after all. But that investigation wasn't very good.

It took another two weeks for an officer to get in touch to say he was taking up the case only for the bobby to inform Lee he was on the last of a series of night shifts and was too busy to do anything for him until he returned to work in four days. At least Lee learned of intelligence police had received to suggest the stolen caravan was at a traveller's site in Salford.

When the officer called back on his return to work, Lee said the officer admitted he had still not viewed the CCTV and when urged to visit the traveller's site the officer declined without backup.

(Image: MEN)

Four weeks after the crime, police finally checked out the address linked to the car registration captured on the CCTV with Lee but it wasn't the same vehicle.

Lee was told by officers that, within a week of the theft, police received intelligence on the caravan's whereabouts but by time police arrived a day later it was gone.

It's now more than a month since the caravan was stolen (on June 1) and it's still missing and Lee is £10,000 out of pocket. At the time he had no insurance.

For Lee at least, the investigation carried out by police so far is barely worthy of the name.

Earlier this year Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services concluded GMP 'requires improvement' following an inspection which had seen standards decline.

While it was 'outstanding' at investigating serious crime, it was deemed sub-standard in a number of areas, one of them investigating more routine crime.

It's a description Lee Wallwork recognises.

Criminals, he said, are treating the affluent suburbs of Worsley like a 'cash machine'.

"They are laughing," he said.

(Image: PA)

He explained: "It's quite a nice suburb of Manchester. You've got footballers here like Ryan Giggs. It's quite an affluent area but at the moment criminals seem to think it's like their own cash machine.

"They are out every single night, breaking into cars and garages and sheds or stealing at knife-point from kids on the old Loop railway line.

"The criminals know that the police just haven't got the staff and haven't got the people out there. They are making absolutely no attempt to cover their faces even though there is CCTV. We were all told to get things like CCTV but what's the point if police are not even asking to see them."

Superintendent Andy Sidebottom, of GMP's Salford division, apologised in a statement to the M.E.N. and admitted Lee had not been kept adequately updated on the case.

He insisted police were still waiting for the CCTV even though it has been emailed to them at least three times and it appeared on the M.E.N. website four days after the crime.

Lee said he has sympathy with the police - GMP has lost 2,000 police officers since austerity started in 2010 - but believes some officers are 'hiding behind the cuts'.

New Home Office figures reveal that in 2018/19 only one crime in 15 in Greater Manchester results in someone being charged.

The figure is even lower for crimes like theft, criminal damage, and arson.

In all, a total of 333,943 crime outcomes were recorded in Greater Manchester, and only 21,097 of them ended with someone being charged or summonsed.

That works out at 6.3 per cent of reported crimes resulting in court action, the same figure as the previous year.

No suspect at all was identified in more than half the cases.

A further 7.1 per cent were stopped because of 'evidential difficulties', even though the suspect supported the prosecution.

Analysis of the Home Office figures shows that some crimes are far more likely to end in court action than others in Greater Manchester.

For example, 30.2 per cent of drug offences in the area resulted in a charge in 2018/19.

That figure dropped to 22.2 per cent for possession of weapons, 7.8 per cent for cases of violence against the person, 9.0 per cent for robbery, 7.8 per cent for sexual offences, 4.1 per cent for criminal damage and arson, and 3.6 per cent for theft.

Nationally, the charge rate for all crimes was 9.1 per cent in 2018/19.

It was highest in North Yorkshire (at 15.5 per cent) and lowest in Kent (at 5.6 per cent).

Earlier this year Chief Constable Ian Hopkins admitted more than 40 per cent of crimes are 'screened out', meaning they aren't investigated because the offence is relatively minor and there are no witnesses or CCTV.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

Even when cases get to court, about a fifth don't end in a conviction, according to the CPS.

Prosecutors are taking fewer cases to court and appear to be favouring serious or straight-forward cases.

Crown Courts are nowhere near as busy as they were 20 years ago, with many courtrooms simply unoccupied for days at a time.

Meanwhile more than half of Greater Manchester's magistrates' courts have closed since 2010.

Figures from The House of Commons reveal that five of the 11 courts in the region had been sold to private developers or councils as of January this year.

Another was closed for an unspecified reason.

The sell-offs raised at least £5.1m, most of it from house builders. Courts in Sale, Altrincham, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Salford have been sold.

John Bache, national chair of the Magistrates' Association, said the courts sell-off has left access to justice 'worryingly remote'.

Defendants now must travel greater distances to get to court while it was also a struggle to recruit and retain magistrates, who are volunteers, he went on.

A spokesperson for the Law Society, which represents solicitors, was more blunt, saying the new stream-lined court estate was 'deepening inequalities in the justice system between people who can and cannot afford to travel greater distances to reach alternative courts'.

Disheartened Manchester-based QC Chris Daw, who has spent 25 years as a defence barrister, told the M.E.N. the entire criminal justice system was in a state of 'cardiac arrest', resulting in overcrowded prisons where rehabilitation work was 'virtually non-existent'.

He said: "A life of crime is a miserable one, usually borne of a horrific childhood, with periods of exclusion from school and in care, leading to petty crime, gang membership, health problems, addiction and worse. Life expectancy of criminals is very low. Life chances equally so. Even those at 'the top' always end up on the run, in prison or dead.

"So what of the state of policing, crime, justice and prisons in 2019? Put simply, the whole system is in a state of cardiac arrest. The police can barely keep up with urgent response work, let alone community or proactive policing. Prosecutors have neither the numbers nor the resources to take anything but the most serious or straightforward cases to court.

"Defence lawyers are leaving in droves due to massive funding cuts. The courts largely stand empty, like the judicial equivalent of Pompeii, just after the eruption. Frozen in time. Nobody there.

(Image: MEN Media)

"The few serious cases that make it through the courts lead to longer and longer prison sentences with less and less emphasis on rehabilitation - the prisons themselves are often overcrowded and home to increasing levels of violence, self-harm and suicide.

"Yes, fewer criminals are being caught but do not assume that means they are all sipping champagne and driving round in new BMWs. A few are of course, for as long as it lasts. But most are just stealing, dealing and selling just to survive and, in many cases, to find enough money for today’s supply of crack, smack or spice."

He went on: "My overview is that we as a country and a city have abandoned criminal justice for other priorities. Or maybe we have just lost track of what matters, in the streets, in people's homes, all over the place. Safety, security, humanity. All less cared for than I remember from my early career."

(Image: Manchester Evening News)

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: " Sentences are decided by independent judges on the facts of each case but under this government the most serious offenders are more likely to go to prison and for longer.

"All of our prisons are within their operational capacity and our most recent figures show that crowding has fallen in the past 12 months.

" Court closures are not taken lightly and only happen after a full public consultation and where people have access to a nearby alternative."

The MoJ has raised about £125m from the sale of court buildings, with the proceeds invested back into the justice system.

The government says it has committed to delivering 10,000 new prison places while closing older jails regarded as 'not fit for purpose'.

(Image: PA)

Apologising about the investigation into Lee Wallwork's stolen caravan Supt Andy Sidebottom blamed cuts in policing.

He said in a statement: "We are sorry to hear that the complainant in this case feels they haven’t been kept up to date by investigating officers.

"We’d like to apologise to them and offer our reassurance that our enquiries into this particular incident remain very much ongoing.

"With thousands of fewer officers across Greater Manchester and increased complexity of demand we have had to make changes to the way we work to meet the public’s need.

"When reports are made to police we make an assessment on how best to respond based on the threat, risk and harm posed to the public.

"The report is then assessed and depending on its severity. Officers could be deployed immediately, later the same day or the call may be able to be resolved over the phone without having to send someone out.

"In this particular case the complainant hasn’t been kept adequately updated. We will be making further arrangements to speak them in person so that CCTV footage can be obtained to assist our enquiries and move our investigation forward."

(Image: PA)

A spokesperson for GMP, asked about the figures suggesting only one in 15 crimes ends in a charge, said the force would always prioritise protecting people from immediate harm and concentrate on really serious cases, pointing out that so-called restorative justice, where victims get a chance to communicate with a burglar or thief who has targeted them, would often be a good way of getting some kind of closure for victims short of a criminal charge.

They said in a statement: "Being a victim of any crime can have a devastating impact on the lives of those affected and their communities. Throughout an investigation, we continue to work closely with the victims to provide support and updates on any progress made and the eventual outcome of the investigation.

" An investigation can be a lengthy process and is never fully closed as new information or intelligence could come to light, which could subsequently lead to the arrest of an offender.

" However, in many incidents; there can be no witnesses, CCTV or forensic opportunities, which means there are no leads for officers to investigate further. Where evidence is present, officers will investigate proportionately and we also rely on the public to help us do this by reporting suspicious activity or telling us about anyone they know who they believe to be involved in crime.

" When dealing with criminality, community resolutions (including restorative justice) can also be an effective method of dealing with some offences and can empower some victims when they believe that formal action is not the route they wish to take.

" Restorative justice is a proven process in the criminal justice system, even when applied to some difficult and challenging crimes, and it’s important to stress that it can be immensely beneficial to victims. It can support them as they make sense of what has happened and try to move on with their lives.

(Image: PA)

" It gives victims the chance to meet or communicate with their offenders to explain the real impact of the crime – it empowers victims by giving them a voice and provides them with the outcomes they need to recover. It also holds offenders to account for what they have done and helps them to take responsibility and make amends.

"The community resolution process is only used following discussions and agreement with the victim; is carried out by trained professionals and conducted in consultation with relevant support services.

" Protecting the public from harm will always be our top priority. At a time when we have less officers, more demand and more complex and serious crime, we have to make difficult decisions every single day to ensure we are protecting our most vulnerable and assessing the threat, harm and risk posed by each incident. The cases which are deemed the highest in terms of those three priorities are where our resources must be allocated.”

(Image: Joel Goodman)

Lucy Frazer, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, said: “We are investing over £1bn to reform and improve our world-leading courts and tribunals system.

Anyone with information about the Lee Wallwork's stolen caravan can call police on 0161 856 5127 quoting incident 1247 of 01/07/2019.

Alternatively, people can ring Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.