Blitz Success

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Blitz Success

Police and other Safe Newcastle partners in an area of Newcastle have slashed burglary by 86% in just over two months and arrested 14 suspects.

Between February and April this year, a spate of offences saw 90 homes burgled in Fenham and the neighbouring Grainger Park Estate.

Safe Newcastle and police joined forces with other agencies to tackle the issue. The network of thieves was broken and burglaries were reduced to just 12 in total in the area between May 1 and mid-July.

14 people - some prolific offenders suspected of a large number of burglaries - have been arrested since the issue first came to light.

Residents in the area feared they were being deliberately targeted when the spate of offences first began but many of the offences had been carried out by opportunist thieves taking advantage of insecure doors and windows.

Safe Newcastle partners worked together to reassure the affected residents that every effort was being made to find the culprits. Police used a range of tactics in the operation, as well as securing information from the public and via the media, to catch the culprits.  

This included reassuring the community through meetings with local councillors and visiting residents personally to give them security advice on how to make their homes safer from burglars.

Neighbourhood Inspector Steve Hails said: "We generally find that around a third of burglaries can be prevented by homeowners being more careful not to leave windows and doors open.

"Reminding residents on how these burglaries are committed and what they can do to prevent them has contributed to a dramatic drop of these types of crime in the area."

A mobile police station was also placed in Fenham for that added security and reassurance and Safe Newcastle delivered leaflets to keep residents up to date with developments.

Chair of Safe Newcastle, Cllr Anita Lower said: "The response by the Safe Newcastle partners has been excellent. To reduce the levels of burglary in the area by such a significant amount is a testament to the hard work by the police and also the support from local Councillors and the Safe Neighbourhoods Group."

Insp Hails added: "We saw a significant and unusual rise in burglary in this area and joined forces with our partners to ensure a swift and appropriate response to the issue, which included reassurance, enforcement and education.

"Those three elements - doing all we can to catch offenders, reassuring residents that we're working hard to resolve the issue, and educating them about how to reduce their risk of becoming a victim - has seen a substantial reduction in burglary in the area.

"Residents are delighted with the results and this has proven that by partners working together with the community we can see excellent results.

"Obviously, one burglary is still one too many and so this hard work is continuing to reduce offences even further."

Chief Superintendent Graham Smith, Newcastle Area Command, added: "It is part of Policing Pledge to resolve issues the community tell us their priority.

"In this instance we were made aware of a burglary problem in Fenham which was clearly of concern to the people in that area.

"The Neighbourhood team made it their priority to resolve that issue and the results speak for themselves. It demonstrates that we'll work with our partners and use every tool at our disposal to address issues and priorities that are brought to our attention by our communities."