5
Nov
2014
By Calvin at 13:59 GMT, 11 years ago
TCPW Introduction We’ve often heard that a small number of criminals are responsible for the majority of crime or maybe a phrase like '20% of known burglars are responsible for 80% of all burglaries'. Well here’s a case in point! A news item from Sussex Police is launching an appeal for help to catch a group of criminals they believe are responsible for 40 burglaries across East and West Sussex. Sussex Police are also speaking to detectives in Kent, Surrey, Thames Valley and the Metropolitan Police to see if the same people could be responsible for similar break-ins across the south east.
Read on....
Over the weekend and on Monday there were three burglaries in Copthorne, three in East Grinstead and five in Crawley that officers believe were committed by the same people as well as an attempted burglary in Copthorne.
They are also thought to be responsible for a further five burglaries in Copthorne, another three in East Grinstead and another six in Crawley as well as seven in Crowborough, two in Robertsbridge, two in Burgess Hill, two in Ardingly and one each in Crawley Down and Battle - all between 17 September and 28 October.
Detective Inspector Dave Wardley-Wilkins said: "A common theme through the burglaries has been the fact that they have used a silver Audi on false number plates as a getaway car.
"We believe one group of burglars are involved but at this stage we do not know if it is exactly the same group of people each time. A number of people are involved but the make-up of the group may change depending on who is available.
"The burglars are targeting homes in some of the more expensive areas of Sussex, smashing doors or windows to get in and stealing gold jewellery in particular, after a quick search of the properties.
"We urgently need the public's help to identify these people so we can trace and arrest them."
Sussex Police launched Operation Magpie to tackle burglary across the county.
Officers are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area of the burglaries on the days they were committed or the days before and who may have seen people acting suspiciously.
Of particular interest is anyone seen with a silver Audi that is fitted with number plates that have been cloned from another, unrelated car of the same type and colour.
The number plates could be switched after the burglaries so police would also like information from anyone who may have seen cars having their number plates changed or who has found abandoned number plates.
Between 9.30am and 10pm on Saturday (1 November) thieves broke into three homes in Buckhurst Way, East Grinstead, and stole jewellery, money and laptops.
A home in Fowler Close, Crawley, was burgled between 9am and 7.40pm on Saturday.
Jewellery was also stolen in three burglaries in Meadow Way, Copthorne, on Saturday and there was also an unsuccessful attempt to break into a home in the road.
On Monday (3 November) between 1pm and 6pm there were a further four burglaries in Crawley - two in Thorndyke Close and one in each of Redgrave Drive and Kelso Close - and jewellery was stolen.
Anyone with information should email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting Operation Smart, call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
If you have any information about burglaries or shops selling stolen goods, call 101 or email101@sussex.pnn.police.uk. For crime prevention advice visit www.sussex.police.uk.
If you see or hear a burglary taking place call 999 immediately.
For the complete list of burglaries please follow the link below to the original article
TCPW Comment: Unfortunately we don’t know too much about how the burglars have been breaking in, other than they’ve been ‘smashing doors and windows’. Nor do we know whether they’ve been avoiding alarmed homes. This sort of information would have been useful to publish so that local residents could identify with the common risk factors across these many burglaries and take the correct remedial action.
You might want to take a look at my section on ‘Repeat Victimisation’, which tells us two important facts: The first is that a second burglary is more likely once you’ve suffered the first and the second is that once one home in a street gets burgled the chances of other homes in the same street getting burgled goes right up. The heightened risks start to reduce after about 6 weeks, so risks are still high in these areas of Sussex.
Therefore, if you live in the areas identified then you should take the Home Security Survey on this site and start making some changes to your home security and security routine.
Sussex Police News item: http://www.sussex.police.uk/whats-happening/latest/news-stories/2014/11/04/group-of-burglars-linked-to-40-break-ins-across-sussex
Repeat Victimisation http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/home-security-assessment/735/repeat-victimisation-burglary/
Home Security Survey (Free) http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/home-security-assessment/468/home-security-survey--diy/
