HAVE YOU LOCKED YOUR GARDEN SHED?
THIEVES are targeting garden sheds for expensive furniture and equipment.
Official figures released yesterday show thefts from sheds and gardens rose 10 per cent last year. Some 1.3million people fell victim, or more than two every minute. The numbers have risen 17 per cent since 2006/07.
Overall, total crimes recorded by the police have hit a 23-year low – defying predictions of a recession-linked crimewave.
The total number of recorded crimes fell to 3,976,312, the first time it has fallen below 4million since 1989.
The figures will be a boost for Home Secretary Theresa May, who is cutting police budgets by one fifth but has insisted the ‘front-line’ of policing must be maintained. Neighbourhood Watch groups say items stolen from sheds are taken because of their high resale value and because of the lower risk than breaking into a house.
Burglaries were down 4 per cent last year to 501,053, and vehicle thefts fell 7 per cent to 417,444.
Robberies rose 8 per cent in London but there were sharp falls in Birmingham and Manchester, leading to an overall fall of 2 per cent. Violent crime fell 7 per cent. Policing minister Nick Herbert said: ‘Despite the challenge of reducing police budgets, crime has continued to fall. The figures give the lie to the spurious claim that there is a simple link between overall police numbers and the crime rate.’