Anti-burglary strategy proves ‘successful’
The number of burglaries taking place in crime hotspots has reduced by a fifth in the last three years thanks to a Home Office initiative, the department claimed today.
The £26m scheme has been operating in 63 parts of the country that had burglary rates that were at least twice as high as the national average.
The Home Office has today published an evaluation of its Reducing Burglary Initiative, which funds police work in partnership with other local agencies.
Home Office Minister Hazel Blears commented: “‘Burglary has fallen by 41% since 1997 and the chances of being a victim of crime are at the lowest in 20 years. We are not complacent however, and are working to bring crime down even further.”
Strategies including property marking, improving fencing, and awareness campaigns have helped bring about the turnaround, while the Association of Chief Police Officers will now help to spread best practice.
Ms. Blears also claimed that in conjunction with the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill that will deal with “low-level crime and thuggery”, the reductions in burglary should have a significant impact on the quality of life for many communities.
And Home Office research seen by the BBC today also suggests that the effects of burglary are not just financial and psychological.
The study suggests that elderly people who are burgled are twice as likely to die in the following two years, than those who haven’t suffered a break-in.
