Police chief hits out at burglary figures
Long term figures are down despite recent spike
HILLINGDON’S police chief has responded to the recent spike in burglary offences, pointing out the fiveyear trend of declining thefts.
In a statement, borough commander with Hillingdon Police Colin Wingrove said there had been a drop of 1,559 burglaries in the past five years.
However, in 2016 there were 107 more offences than in 2015, which is a 5% increase.
He said: “Following the recent increase in burglary offences, I would like to reassure you of the measures we are actively working on to target burglars, and reduce burglary offending in Hillingdon Borough to keep residents safe.
“The long-term trend has been down and what we are currently dealing with is a seasonal rise.
“Behind every statistic is a person who has suffered a burglary and we are determined to continue to reduce these offences and catch and convict offenders.
“When a burglary does occur, not only do we ensure we take every investigative opportunity to solve it, we also task the neighbourhood officers to undertake ‘cocooning’, which involves a follow up visit as well as visits to neighbouring properties to make aware and also to check for potential witnesses.”
Supt Wingrove said that Hillingdon Police are targeting repeat locations and offenders using plain clothes officers, number plate recognition, CCTV, forensics and intelligence.
Uniformed officer presence has been increased and the Met Trace prevention scheme has also been embraced.
Met Trace is the rolling out of free SmartWater kits used for marking property to one in seven homes across London.
Nearly 2,300 kits have been handed out since April last year.
Supt Wingrove also pointed a number of recent successful burglary related arrests.
On Saturday January 21, three suspects were arrested from the garden of a property in Ruislip Gardens.
This investigation ongoing. is