Anti-burglary patrols launched in Sheepridge

Feb 19 2010 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HOW burglar-proof is your house?

That’s the question police are asking Huddersfield householders in a major new initiative to curb an alarming crime trend.

While all other types of crime in the Kirklees district fell last year, burglaries were up 3%.

About a third are committed by people breaking into houses where doors or windows are left open or unlocked.

Combating burglary is a force priority for West Yorkshire Police, but they believe people are failing to heed advice about basic crime prevention measures.

In a bid to get the message across, officers are now knocking on doors to tell householders if their homes are vulnerable – and what action they can take to keep themselves safe.

“We do have problems with insecure properties being targeted by opportunistic thieves and it’s all about removing the temptation for them,” said Insp Dave Stainthorpe, who is in charge of efforts to bring down burglaries in Kirklees.

“People seem to think that it will never happen to them until it does. We just want to give out some basic crime prevention advice.”

In the first of a series of initiatives, officers from Huddersfield North Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) knocked on doors in Sheepridge yesterday.

They were checking locks on doors and windows and looking at other security measures.

Officers were joined by Howard Fanning, fire and police liaison officer for Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH).