24
Nov
2014
By Calvin at 16:58 GMT, 9 years ago
From Sussex Police
The number of burglaries reported across the south east has fallen after Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Thames Valley Police launched their first joint campaign to tackle the issue.
The three-week campaign ran from 27 October to 16 November and involved operations by detectives from across the forces, crime prevention roadshows and officers from different departments and divisions working together to hunt for burglary suspects.
The campaign was timed to coincide with Bonfire Night, which traditionally kicks off a five-day break-in spree for criminals in the region. Statistics from the last five years reveal there are more burglaries in that period than at any other time of the year.
Results:
- Sussex 239 burglaries compared to 256 in 2013
- Surrey 189 burglaries compared to 222 in 2013
- Kent 321 burglaries compared to 384 in 2013
- Thames Valley 299 burglaries compared to 385 in 2013
- Total across all police services 1048 burglaries compared to 1247 in 2013; an overall reduction of 16%
- There were also 265 burglary suspects arrested during the campaign while suspects were charged with 104 burglaries
Detective Chief Inspector Tanya Jones, of Sussex Police, said: "The campaign has been a great success both in catching burglars and encouraging people to make their homes less attractive to offenders.
"We have run a series of cross-border operations, shared intelligence with our neighbouring forces and generally developed a closer way of working that is helping us now in the future to tackle burglary.
"Burglaries are very distressing for victims and can cause them worry and upset for months or even years after they have been targeted. Some are left feel unsafe even in their own homes. We are determined to reduce the number of people who have to suffer at the hands of these offenders.
"The campaign may have finished but we will continue to target suspects and work with the public to make it harder for criminals to earn a living through burglary in Sussex."
If you have any information about burglaries or shops selling stolen goods, call 101 or email101@sussex.pnn.police.uk.
If you see or hear a burglary taking place call 999 immediately.
TCPW Comment: This is great news and whilst the residents of these police areas and the police officers involved in this excellent achievement should be patting themselves on the back it’s worth reminding ourselves that there are other issues that lie behind these results.
First off, and this could be more good news, is the recent report by HMIC about the crime recording practices of the police, which were severely criticised. It could be that a higher percentage of burglaries committed during the campaign were recorded by the police than were in the same period last year; by as much as 11% according to the report.
Secondly, the UK and most of the western world is experiencing an ongoing downward trend in most property crime categories. Whilst our criminologist have admitted that they’re not quite sure why this is happening it is probable that some of this burglary reduction will be due to the fact there are fewer people committing burglary each year.
Part of this police campaign was to promote home security and whilst it would be very difficult to accurately establish the percentage change caused by the crime prevention element there is no doubt that it has and continues to have a major role in crime control. Indeed, I would suggest that the removal of opportunity to commit crime is the major deterrent in the long term.
We should also not forget that these are police recorded figures, which do not give us the full picture. The Crime Survey for England and Wales tells us that burglary is under-reported to the police; a rate which varies widely between police areas, but one that is particularly high in areas of high unemployment and poor housing.
That all being said this is such a large reduction in burglary reports that a great deal of it will most certainly be down to the hard work and dedication of our underfunded police services, so it’s a massive well-done to them!
Original story with extra detail: http://www.sussex.police.uk/whats-happening/latest/news-stories/2014/11/20/burglaries-fall-by-16-during-joint-campaign-across-the-south-east
