'Huge increase' in burglaries

John Scheerhout

July 16, 2009

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Burglaries up 10 per cent

A HOUSE was burgled every 22 minutes in Greater Manchester last year as break-ins soared in the credit crunch, according to new official figures.

The region was blighted by 23,709 house break-ins in the 12 months to March 2009, a rise of ten per cent compared to the year before.

Police said the economic downturn had prompted some career burglaries to come out of retirement and inflict more misery on households.

The rise in break-ins was revealed as the Home Office published its annual 'reported crime' figures for England and Wales.

Figures show that overall crime fell by five per cent during the period to March compared with the year before and there was a ten per cent fall in car crime.

Greater Manchester Police said it is setting up a team of officers similar to a murder incident team which will target the region's most active burglars.

Operation Storm aims to reduce burglaries by 3.5 per cent this year.

Top priority

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: "Burglary is a top priority for GMP which is why we are taking this action to make a real difference to communities."

Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson, who is heading Operation Storm, added: "We have to put this into context. Burglary has fallen 40 per cent since 2000 although, yes, we have had this 10 per cent increase over the last year. Half the forces in England have suffered a similar increase."

He said drug-addicts were stealing more because drug purity was falling and they needed more of it to get the same high. Electrical goods like TVs are also relatively cheap compared to years ago and burglars have to steal more goods to make the same money, he added.

Det Ch Spt Jackson said that new burglars are appearing in the area and others are coming out of retirement, possibly because of the recession.

We have identified our top 60 offenders and they are getting our special service
Det Ch Spt Jackson

He added: "We have had a huge increase over the year. Burglary is a horrible crime and it has a devastating impact on communities and individuals. We have launched Operation Storm where we will adopt specialist techniques used for murder enquiries.

"We have identified our top 60 offenders and they are getting our special service. They might be being watched or they might get an unwelcome visit early one morning."

Last year Greater Manchester Police Authority chairman Paul Murphy said the force's performance on burglary and other key targets was 'unacceptable'.

Today Coun Murphy said: "The Police Authority's robust scrutiny arrangements ensure police performance is closely monitored. We are therefore fully aware of the policing picture in Greater Manchester.

"As the reduction in the numbers of victims shows, there is some tremendous work taking place which is having a positive impact and that should be commended.

"However, there are some areas where more work is needed. GMPA is carefully watching the Force's response in these areas and I have every confidence solutions such as Operation Storm will be effective. The Authority regularly holds the Chief Constable to account to ensure that is the case."

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Your havin a laugh, Tameside (16/07/2009 at 10:52)

Maybe if these 'career' burglars were in pison where they belong, maybe just maybe the burglary rate would be lower? & God bless GMPA! I find them so helpful! run by people who havn't got the first idea about policing.

Of Denton, Tameside (16/07/2009 at 11:22)

Not rocket science - don't leave doors and windows open or unlocked, put burglar alarms on (they are not decorations for your home), replace windows and doors that are broken/old/easy to get in to, and add good locks to wooden doors and windows. If going away ask neighbours and friends to check on the property.

Unless the police are given the powers to lock up anybody with a burglary charge how do you expect them to reduce the number committed? It's a personal responsability issue and crime prevention of this nature should be handled by councils not the police!!

Ran Droid, Manchester (16/07/2009 at 11:30)

Having seen the police in action over an attempted burglary a few years back, it comes as no surprise they're not hitting the targets.

Punishments rarely act as a deterrent, as they don't go out think they'll get caught. Start making them think there's a good chance of getting caught, and they won't go out.

Legalizing/taxing drugs would help too, and as punishment how about sending them over to Afghanistan to help out with some of the civil efforts over there? Pretty sure after a few months of that, you'll see recidivism rates drop like a stone.

wardy, manchester (16/07/2009 at 11:56)

Of Denton , You talk a load of rubbish , The scum nowadays just put a brick through the window take what they want and run , They dont even mind walking in gardens rtc to have a good look first as there is nothing you can do about it untill you catch them doing anything !! Anyone agree ??????

Drew Peacock (16/07/2009 at 12:03)

My house was burgled 15 months ago. They kicked my front door in during the day whilst we was at work. They drove off in a stolen car and by pure coincidence the police saw them turn onto the main road at speed and took chase. Two got away but the lad in the back was caught with my 42" Plasma and my laptop.

The lad was only given a 2 year suspended sentence, was order to pay us £500 in damamges (in which on £200 was paid) and the 'support officer' rang us to ask if we wanted to meet him to tell him how he made us feel! Which i replied i would love to meet him and let him know how i feel, but certainly not while the police was present!

If they want to stop this rise them lock them up and instead of slapping them on the wrist!

Of Denton, Tameside (16/07/2009 at 12:07)

Wardy, it's not that easy to throw a brick through a double glazed PVCu window! As for gardens have you tried high fencing and barbed wire? Plus doesn't matter if they get in to the garden provided they can't get in to the house.

lebist, blackley (16/07/2009 at 12:31)

"A house was burgled every 22 minutes in Greater Manchester last year"? If I was them I think I'd move.

Mark,Radcliffe. (16/07/2009 at 12:42)

Mr Jackson and his squad have identified 60 most prolific burglary offenders..I'm sure a monkey,using a computer search programme,could also come up with the same 60 individuals.Operation Storm is shutting the gate after the horse has bolted..Why wasnt a preventative 'operation' launched sooner,as these figures and crime trends can be seen and collated monthly.Perhaps the Police Authority should employ a carrot and stick rewards policy in the future,like if you want a water-cannon get crime down.

wardy, manchester (16/07/2009 at 12:47)

Denton , Yes it is easy to put a brick through window as it happened to my friends twice , as they dont care how much noise they make doing it , they even use a paving stone , and a high barbed wire fence at the front of your house will look very nice as well as it being against the law !! Get real take it you not had anything taken from you ???

chriso, manchester (16/07/2009 at 12:48)

I have read the comments on here and understand the dislike for crime especially burgulars.
After being employed most of life and suddenly being hit with redundancy.

I went to the jobcentre to make a claim for jobseekers and was refused any help what so ever.

people are being forced into a corner with high living costs and utilty bills and are finding it hard to meet there commitments.

i don't condone crime, burglary or theft but as the unemployment situation worsens and more people are refused help this is what we can only exspect.

My opion is some people are a victim of there own circumstances through no fault of there own and although crime is not justified, these are the sitiutions some people find them selves into day.

Its a sad sate of affairs when people find them selves in a position that they have to go out and commit crime in order to feed there children and keep a roof over there heads because they can not get any help from the state.

this is now and people need to wake up to whats really happening in britain, while some of these scroungers are able to live a life of luxury on benefits, who can attend to there diy, tax and insure and fuel there car, eat out, and go on holiday.

Yet genuine people who have worked all there lives get nothing, i had this discussion with the jobcentre only last week and they agreed with me.
the system is a complete joke, people are being driven to suicide because they can't cope.

wake up britain this is realisation, and if your working now, you could be the next victim, then go try make a claim, the answer will be sorry you not entitled to anything good bye!

Fed Up
Chriso Manchester

Mad Welsh Scotsman, Cadishead (16/07/2009 at 13:05)

Of Denton, I'd quite while your behind if I were you. What are you on about, high fence with barbed wire. a) you cannot have high fences at the front, planning laws will not allow it and b) if a scrote got caught on your barbed wire he could sue you.

Solution is easy, lock them up or birch them in public

lovinthebanter, Manchester (16/07/2009 at 13:36)

Of Denton, Tameside
16/07/2009 at 11:22
'Not rocket science - don't leave doors and windows open or unlocked, put burglar alarms on (they are not decorations for your home), replace windows and doors that are broken/old/easy to get in to, and add good locks to wooden doors and windows. If going away ask neighbours and friends to check on the property.

Unless the police are given the powers to lock up anybody with a burglary charge how do you expect them to reduce the number committed? It's a personal responsability issue and crime prevention of this nature should be handled by councils not the police!!!'

Good idea I now live in a vault to be absolutely sure. Didnt want to take the chance I heard glass actually breaks when a force is applied.

Hamish Macbeth, Whitefield (16/07/2009 at 14:12)

""The lad was only given a 2 year suspended sentence, was order to pay us £500 in damamges (in which on £200 was paid) and the 'support officer' rang us to ask if we wanted to meet him to tell him how he made us feel""

Sums it all up really. These parasites arent bothered about suspended sentences, a fine, meeting an outreach guardian reading social worker for one to one facilitating.
They need a stretch inside.
It's simple really.
It's the only "boundary" they know or accept.
If the money spent on some of this "outreach" tosh was put into building a few more prisons we wouldnt be in this mess now.

A daytime house burglar around our way has just been given a "curfew order" - to keep him in at night!
Brilliant!
Crime - together we'll crack it?

Of Denton, Tameside (16/07/2009 at 14:27)

Do your research on double glazed units - they have a vacumn between them that makes it much more difficult to smash than regular glass @ least takes them longer and requires more time, effort and noise!!

We had a video recorder stolen because my mum left the window open overnight and a bike was taken from our unlocked garage - not the polices fault we didn't protect ourselves.

Sad fact is crime exists and you have to not make yourself a target - we failed on these two occaisons to protect ourselves hence things were stolen.

Our house is all double glazed and our garden has two 6ft fences and one 8ft fence paid half by ourselves and half by our neighbours in order to do what we could to protect ourselves from crime.

Didn't say anything about a fence at the front of the house - read what is written.

Ran Droid, Manchester (16/07/2009 at 14:57)

@Chriso

That's why you shouldn't rely on the state, they're happy enough to take your money with menaces but will do anything to avoid giving it you back when you need it.

I'm self-employed, and my NI contributions - which should cover my healthcare, pension and unemployment needs - appear to be going on second homes rather than insuring my future!

Perhaps it time to ask those famous socialists the Kinnocks, millionaires and with 6 taxpayer-funded pensions between them, to stay true to their ideals and help the working class who are suffering in these times by redistributing their wealth. Wouldn't hold my breath though.

wardy, manchester (16/07/2009 at 16:27)

Denton Like i said my friends came home to find young scum in the house that had smashed a double glazzed unit to get in , they also have tall fence , Get real !! Just hope you dont think locking your doors and windows will save you !!

Neil McNabs Sporran, Glasgae (16/07/2009 at 16:32)

Anyone can get a job stacking shelves at Tesco, I have done it before when I was made redundant. Work is work one way or the other, the problem is that a lot of these people committing the burglaries come from a welfare state culture, where they are draining the benefit system and also can't be bothered to do a days work so they go on the rob to supplement their income or their drug habit whatever. Unfortunately these people are a product of the system that our government has created and a lot of them play the system with more skill than Carols Tevez with a football at his feet. It is also a problem where parents are spawning a multitude of children who just grow up to be like their useless parents, it's a vicious circle. Personally I think we should get rid of benefits without good justification and suspended sentences for criminals, let's bring back the chain gangs and get the lazy swines doing some hard graft and putting something back into the system that they spend so much time draining. If they put as much effort into their education or a potential job as they do playing the system and screwing people over, I am sure they could succeed somewhere. Either way, there are plenty of roads that constantly need fixing or old people in the community who's gardens or houses may need some tending too. Get them putting something back into the community that they are taking from. Work them so hard that they are begging to get out into normal life and do a normal 9-5 job. Would happily spend my tax payers money if I knew some of these people are being taught a darn good lesson and then being retrained and rehabilitated. At the moment I resent paying my taxes for half meausres, stupid initiatives and MP's expenses, it's amazing how the government squander our hard earned cash.

Mad Welsh Scotsman, Cadishead (16/07/2009 at 16:59)

Of Denton: it doesn't matter where the fence is, I'm sure barbed wire is illegal and I know a person can sue if they get caught by it, for whatever reason.

And, the glass is designed to be able to be smashed in an emergency, if you know where and how to hit it. I'll not say, because it will give scrotes the idea but most probably know anyway

PW, Manchester (16/07/2009 at 17:18)

I know of one self-employed person who earns a lot more than he tells the taxman. In normal times, I would treat him with the indignation most people would say he deserves. He would pay his taxes, but is loathe to see his hard-earned money spent like it is by today's Government, particularly on the non-genuine benefit claimants, costly Government interference schemes, the bloated legal system that makes money hand-over-fist on defending criminal scroats, etc etc.

As an employed person, I only wish I had his choice, and never thought I would see things that way. Like one poster on here, I have suffered redundancy in recent years, and found no safety net having worked continuously for 30 years plus. The UK is indeed a joke.

James Yates, Hyde, Cheshire (16/07/2009 at 20:07)

Twenty-four thousand houses burgled in 12 months. It's about time we had a police force to catch burglars, judges to imprison burglars, and prisons to holde them in. Why do we not have these police officers, judges and prisons. Is it because people don't want to pay for them. Would they rather be burgled, robbed and raped than pay for more police, judges and prisons? Or is the truth that we don not have a democracy: Manchester send half-a-dozen representatives down to London for five years to mess about and pocket huge expenses and discuss global warming and protecting usf rom terrorism by declaring wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, and during that time over a million homes and half a million families in the Northwest have been burgled. Who needs politicians? They are good for nothing!

Jonah, USA (17/07/2009 at 01:27)

Here burglary is the least of our crime problems due to the fact that so many residents are armed. The average Briton does not trust his fellow citizen with a gun and thus the burglar has little to fear. Our "gun crime" is mostly commited criminal upon criminal and law-abiding citizens have created their own security. There's really not much the police can do to prevent burglary, it's up to the community. One incident of a burglar being confronted by a homeowner pointing a .357 magnum at him/her would quickly stop these invasions in that neighbourhood.
.

mark quck (17/07/2009 at 14:41)

People are blaming the Police.I must be really dense.The police can only catch the offenders when the crime has been committed.Its the soft or none existance of sentences that are one of the main reasons for this increase.

Rob Wilson (17/07/2009 at 17:05)

A bit of community spirit in your neighbourhood, helping each other and working together to make your street/area more secure would help. Instead most people lock themselves away in their own bubble hoping 999 will come to the rescue. Yeah right!
I keep an eye out for alot of the residents on my street, especially the elderley, in the evening. If I was too catch anyone so much as attempting to burgle a house on my street (i'll be the judge of whether theyre up to no good also), I will make sure if they are quick enough to get away, that they are too scared to come back. In return, whilst I am at work, I have the eyes of the residents at home, keeping an eye out for my house. Granted they have to rely on 999 if they do see anything dodgy, but truth be told, for some reason, we never have any trouble.
I also agree with Jonah USA. If there was a fear of something happening to these cowards when they enter a property, you can bet that the burglary rate drops (really drops. Not like the false police statistics!).
I personally wont think twice about taking a heavy object to the head of anyone entering my house without permission regardless of the consequences. My house, my stuff, your risk, your tough s**t!

PW, Manchester (17/07/2009 at 19:50)

Rob Wilson. I keep a gardening fork in my bedroom wardrobe. Why? Because my garage is pretty full. Knife or screw driver versus a gardening fork. I'd like to see them try. This is my 11th hour, 59th minute insurance. No time to ring the busies you see. I have my wife and my home to protect.

malcolm, USA (formally of Salford ENG) (17/07/2009 at 22:14)

I left England 26 years ago and don’t regret it one bit when I hear of the rise in crime and break-ins, at least here I am entitled to protect what is mine by any means necessary .

My home is protected by Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson in the form of a .357 Magnum.

When will the British government get with the times and allow people to protect their home instead of expecting them to call 999 and waiting an hour for the police to arrive?

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