Sponsored by
Operation Alert: Burglary crackdown nets 'most wanted'
THREE of Peterborough's "most wanted" have been snared in a major police burglary crackdown within the last two weeks.
THREE of Peterborough's "most wanted" have been snared in a major police burglary crackdown within the last two weeks.Codenamed Operation Alert, and launched on June 22, police have made 17 arrests including three of who they describe as the top 10 most prolific burglars officers had identified in the city.
And detectives have also warned other thieves on their top 60 hit-list that they are "in our sights".
The operation began with warning letters being hand-delivered to people with suspected links to burglary and, since then, suspects have been receiving regular visits from officers, some as many as three times week.
Four of those arrested have been remanded in custody awaiting court appearances, plus one who has been convicted for vehicle crime.
Police also say some of the suspects have also been arrested on suspicion of a host of other serious crimes, including arson, robbery, vehicle crime, breach of bail, theft, assault and domestic violence.
As revealed in The Evening Telegraph last month, the crackdown was sparked by shock new figures which showed that 692 city homes were burgled in the first five months of this year – the equivalent of nine break-ins every two days, and a 45 per cent increase on the same period in 2008.
And police say the intensive operation had reaped immediate results – with 10 fewer burglaries committed in the last two weeks than in the two prior to the operation.
Detective Inspector Neil Sloan, of Cambridgeshire police, said the reduction was achieved despite a spell of hot weather, during which the number of burglaries normally rise due to windows and doors being left open.
He said: "These people need to know that we are on their case and will arrest them for any offence for which we have evidence.
"We have had a successful start, but the intensity of the operation will not wane, and the burglars who are still out there are very much in our sights."
The operation has also seen police carrying out extra patrols, stopping and searching in hotspot areas, and gathering intelligence and evidence alongside other agencies from the Safer Peterborough Partnership.
DI Sloan added: "It is also important that residents report any suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods.
"We rely on the eyes and ears of the community to give us the information we need."
Peterborough Conservative MP Stewart Jackson said he backed the police 100 per cent, but added: "I think that the courts and the probation service need to work alongside the police to ensure there is strong sentencing to back up the arrests.
"The message to serial burglars needs to be a powerful one, that Peterborough is not prepared to put up with these burglaries, which deeply affect the quality of people's lives."
Anyone with information should call police on 0345 456 4564, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Peterborough
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.