‘Burglaries are taken seriously’

SOUTH Yorkshire Police have responded to claims by frustrated locals who say officers don’t attend burglaries in Thurnscoe.

Following a number of antisocial behaviour incidents in the area, including a teenager being stabbed, angry residents slammed the police force for not doing enough to protect them.

But police bosses have reassured them that action is being taken.

DCI Ben Wood, crime manager for the Barnsley district, told the Chronicle: “I know that a key priority for the communities we serve is to provide a high quality of service to victims of burglary.

“I understand the upset being a victim of a burglary can bring, which is why it is a key priority for Barnsley and South Yorkshire Police to attend every burglary. This was shown when we joined all the forces in the country in October to pledge attendance at every residential burglary that occurs on our force area. In order to prevent these offences being committed we deploy officers on proactive patrols in our identified hotspots and target those offenders we believe are committing these offences. We have seen some really positive results from this work.

“In September there were 13 residential burglary offences that month for the Thurnscoe area, this has now significantly reduced to seven in the month of November.

“We believe this is due to our targeted work on known nominals believed to be involved in this type of crime. Again since September, we have taken nine of these nominals into custody and are at various stages of cases being built against these individuals.

“We know there is work still to be done, and we will continue to clamp down on those committing these crimes in our communities.”