Burglaries in Hull at all-time low

BURGLARIES in Hull are at a historic low, according to new figures.

Offences dropped to an average of fewer than six a day for the first time.

It means Hull, which has traditionally been a hotspot for burglaries, is bucking upward force-wide and national trends.

Detective Chief Inspector Scott Young said: "It is a huge success and, although there are still houses being burgled, we are getting on top of things and we will keep striving to drive that number down.

"We are more intelligent now in the way we tackle burglaries."

In the 12 months to March 2008, 2,319 burglaries were committed, but in the year ending March 2009, that number had dropped to 2,175.

It means burglaries in Hull dropped seven per cent from April last year to the end of March this year – a total of 144 fewer offences.

Nationally, there has been a two per cent rise in burglaries and across the force, which includes the East Riding, North and North East Lincolnshire, there has been a six per cent increase.

The fall in Hull has been attributed to the work of a specialist team set up to tackle house burglaries just over two years ago.

The burglary squad, which is part of the priority crime team based at Priory Road police station in north Hull, is made up of one detective sergeant, 10 detective constables, three constables, two civilian forensic experts and three civilian officers.

According to the team, it has been locking up suspects faster, responding to incidents more quickly and using better intelligence.

Detective Sergeant John Fuller, who leads the burglary team, said: "We have a good team of dedicated officers who work hard and all know exactly what is expected of them.

"We have three intelligence officers working full-time trying to pull things together. We have forensic reports coming through to us daily and when someone is identified as a suspect, we aim to lock them up within 24 hours.

"If people are not locked up, they continue to commit offences. By reacting quickly, we are able to nip things in the bud.

"As a direct result of that, the figures have dropped because we are locking up more burglars, which means they are not on the street committing offences."

Despite the success, people are being urged to continue to help tackle the problem.

As part of a national campaign, members of the public are being asked to report suspicious behaviour and take measures to protect their property.

Crime prevention leaflets are being distributed and Smartwater marking – which is undetectable to the human eye but can be seen under ultraviolet light – has been used on property in more than 12,000 of the city's 105,000 households.

Community awareness events have also been organised to let people speak to police and find out more about crime prevention.

Officers were in Queen Victoria Square, city centre, today from 10am to 3pm as part of the campaign.

Links

Humberside Police

www.humberside.police.uk

Crime Reduction

www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk