Burglars hammered in operation guardian

Operation Guardian, a police day of action targeting burglars by Greater Manchester Police and its partners resulted in almost 200 arrests being made on Tuesday 13 January.

The hard-hitting operation made 120 of these arrests during 245 home visits by police with the remainder being made by court enforcement officers on offenders wanted for burglary, outstanding fines and breach of bail and curfew conditions.

Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) were issued for 110 offences.

Since the beginning of the year 143 arrests have been made for domestic burglaries and more than 100 search warrants have been carried out on suspected burglars.

More than 1,000 residents registered their valuables on the free, easy to use Immobilise.com property database at dozens of special registration stations set up by PCSOs in community venues such as community centres, supermarkets and libraries across Greater Manchester.

Officers also visited around 5,000 homes as part of the Operation to give crime reduction advice and literature to householders.

Detective Chief Inspector Dean Fraser said: “With Operation Guardian Greater Manchester Police and its partners are taking the fight against burglary to the offender. We are visiting them in the home, increasing patrols and surveillance in the areas that they live and disrupting any opportunities they might have to commit further crime.

“We are also bringing a whole range of specialist policing resources such as our Mounted and Dog Sections, Tactical Aid Unit and Traffic Network Section to bear on these criminals. Our use of the new Forensic Response Unit to provide a rapid evidence gathering service in burglary hotspot areas at the hours when these crimes occur is helping secure water-tight convictions against burglars.

“This day of action is the latest of a whole range of activity targeting burglars and increasing awareness amongst residents of how they can protect their property from these crimes.

“The long-term downward trend in burglaries has hiccupped in the last six months in Greater Manchester and across the country. Through Operation Guardian we are addressing this recent rise and greatly decreasing the chances of people falling victim to this distressing crime.

“Residents can play their part by following simple advice such as always shutting and locking doors and windows and remembering to use alarms, locks and lights to keep burglars out in the cold."