Chief Constable pledges to tackle burglary

Tackling house burglary is one of the top priorities for Greater Manchester Police in the coming months, according to the new Chief Constable.

In his second week Chief Constable Peter Fahy has outlined details of a series of operations that are planned as part of work to make neighbourhoods safer, including a focus on the new students arriving in the region.

Crime in Greater Manchester is continuing to fall and there has been a six per cent reduction in serious violent crime including robbery. But officers are concerned about a recent rise in house burglary.

Chief Constable Fahy said: “House burglary is a particularly upsetting crime and we need to get on top of this rise. In my first week there was some misunderstanding with the Police Authority over the format of an action plan they wanted but what is important is there is already a strong focus in the Force on addressing this problem.

“A series of operations are being planned across Greater Manchester but we need the support of the public to make it harder for those stealing from other people’s homes.”

GMP is continuing to work to understand what is causing the recent rise in burglary. It is believed factors may include the price of stolen metal, prolific offenders being released from prison and offenders taking the risk because they think sentences will be short.

Mr Fahy added: “People traditionally think burglars break into empty houses at night but things are changing. Many burglaries are what are called ‘sneak in’ thefts where people leave the back door unlocked when they are in another part of the house. The offender goes in and steals a mobile phone, purse or whatever they can find left on a kitchen surface. Often the sole purpose is to get the keys to the car parked on the drive.

“There are also distraction offences where older people are targeted by bogus callers pretending to be officials from the ‘water board’. We need people to make sure they take all sensible crime prevention measures to guard against sneak in thefts and to keep car keys out of sight.

“If you see people acting suspiciously around you or your neighbour’s house, or believe older people are being targeted, call us immediately. We need information on those who are committing these crimes and selling the stolen goods.

“I know people expect GMP to be successful in issues including reducing gun and knife crime, dealing with anti-social behaviour, being visible on the streets and giving a good service when they call for help. There is no single statistic that can measure this and we know people will trust their own experience.

“Our focus is to ensure there are fewer victims of crime and at the moment this means asking people to support us in the fight against burglars.”