Campaign cutting rates of burglaries

A POLICE crackdown on shed and garage break-ins has seen a drop in burglary rates across Bradford, new figures show.

West Yorkshire Police launched the campaign in a bid to drive down numbers of spring and summer outbuilding breakins.

The city’s Crime Reduction Officers had been focusing on crime in rural areas of Bradford.

And they said that following visits and crime prevention advice, there has been a 20 per cent fall in the number of shed and garage burglaries in the city compared with the previous year.

The seven-month campaign has also reduced the total number of burglaries across Bradford by eight per cent, police said.

Crime Reduction Officer Martin Jordan, from West Yorkshire Police, said: “While this was our campaign in terms of raising awareness and reassuring victims, the reduction has been achieved by police officers and staff from across the Bradford District and West Yorkshire, who have acted on local information and worked proactively to make some significant arrests.

“The effects of a burglary can be devastating and we hope our activity in the remote areas of the district has given victims some reassurance and informed them and those living nearby of the steps they can take to prevent crime.”

Officers visited a total of 90 victims between April and October to offer additional advice about keeping their outbuildings secure and to provide reassurance.

They also delivered more than 2,600 crime prevention packs in areas where offences had been reported.