Brits lost more than £800million to robberies last year, research reveals.
The whopping figure is £200million higher compared to five years ago, according to Labour analysis.
The party blasted Tory cuts to interventions like youth centres that once diverted people away from a life of crime.
Shadow Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Everyone has the right to feel safe in their homes but far too often when robberies happen no action is taken and victims are let down.
“What we need to try and do is make sure people don't commit the crime in the first place. And then if they do, we're also trying to pull them out of carrying on with that criminal lifestyle.”
Each robbery costs the public an average of £11,320 in public service costs, according to Home Office data.
The figure includes the losses suffered by victims in lost or damaged property, as well as physical or emotional harm.
There were more than 70,000 robberies recorded last year, up from just over 50,000 in 2015.
Robbery is the action of stealing something from someone by force or threat of force, as opposed to domestic burglary or theft.
The Mirror accompanied Ms Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon Central, on a whistle stop tour around County Durham today to see how local interventions are trying to stop children getting involved in crime.
Speaking after a visit to a boxing club in Ferryhill, she said: “The boxing club we just went to see where we boxed with some kids - they support and guide children who otherwise might go down a very different path.
“The respect that you learn when you're boxing, the discipline, and just the sense of belonging somewhere, having somewhere to go and being off the streets can make a real difference. The simple things can make a real difference.
“But the whole kind of social fabric of all of those different interventions from youth work to sports clubs to all sorts of interventions have all fallen away over the last 12 years.”
Youth services across England and Wales have suffered funding cuts of almost £1billion since 2010, according to analysis by YMCA.
Paul Eddy, who runs Seconds Out Boxing Club, said: “We're now offering free boxing to all the kids who live in Ferryhill - the idea being that they’re gonna be off the streets for at least twice a week.
“We’re not funded at the moment. We’re doing it all voluntarily and it’s difficult. We need more funding.
“You can't do it for nothing forever. And if this is what we can do for free, imagine what we could do if we had a couple of people working on this full time?
“Over the last 12 months, since the end of the lockdown and obviously with a lot of difficulties with the situation in Ukraine, things have been going up in price - that's one of the reasons we're doing it free.
“There's a lot of families in Ferryhill with three or four kids who couldn't afford £9 a session to send three kids to a boxing club. But the whole idea was obviously if we get them in here, you might just be able to light that little spark that keeps them coming.”
Ms Jones added: “Labour already has said that prevention should be at the heart of what we do, for example, putting youth workers in A&E departments or youth workers in custody suites so that when kids get themselves into that first stage of problem, somebody is there to have the conversation with them about what is happening with their life.
“Labour is the party of law and order. The next Labour Government will put policing back where it belongs, at the heart of communities. We will deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood officers and PCSOs to stop criminals and keep communities safe.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Robbery is an invasive and unsettling crime for victims and we expect police to take all incidents seriously.
“We are supporting police by providing funding for crime prevention measures, including better street lighting and CCTV, delivering 20,000 additional officers, and equipping police with better technology to help their investigations and catch more criminals.”
