Big increase in York burglaries

The statistics show that, between 2006 and 2008, domestic burglaries spiralled in Micklegate, Guildhall, Clifton, Haxby and Strensall, Heworth, Hull Road, Holgate, Westfield, Bishopthorpe and Fishergate.

Burglaries by York ward

The worst-affected area was Clifton, where there were 191 burglaries last year, compared with 94 in 2006 – an increase of 103 per cent.

Holgate was also badly hit. In 2006, there were only 69 incidences of burglary in the ward, but last year there were 161 – a rise of more than 130 per cent.

The figures, obtained from North Yorkshire Police by The Press, also reveal that in Micklegate there was a 72 per cent increase between 2006, when there were 71, and last year, when there were 122. In 2007, there were 70 burglaries in the ward.

Sergeant Lee Pointon, of the Micklegate safer neighbourhood policing team, said: “Obviously socio-economic factors play a big part in criminal activity. Crime will go up if people have no money.”

He said that, in a bid to combat the problem, police were stepping up patrols in the ward, and would be continuing their awareness campaign about keeping homes secure, called Operation Joypad.

Holgate councillor Sonja Crisp said she was shocked by the figures. “I’m pretty floored,” she said. “I knew there’d been an increase last year – but that is a phenomenal increase.”

Coun Crisp, who said she would be meeting police officers on Monday to discuss the situation in Holgate, said: “I think anybody with any common sense would be worried about the figures, and I’m quite sure that Holgate residents would be worried, and this is why I would like to know what the police are going to do to address that situation,” she said.

PC Jon Bostwick, the dedicated police officer for Holgate, said that, since Christmas, crime levels in the ward had gone down.

The data also shows that in Guildhall over 70 per cent more burglaries happened in 2008, when there were 104, than in 2006, when there were 61.

Heworth too was one of the chief victims, with over 100 per cent more burglaries – 105 – happening in 2008 than in 2006, when there was 50. And there was a steady rise in burglaries in Fishergate, from 34 in 2006 to 45 in 2007 and then 70 last year.

In Haxby and Strensall, in 2006 there were eight burglaries compared with 14 last year.

However, in Acomb, the number dropped from 55 in 2006 to 45 last year. In the other wards, the figure either fluctuated, or decreased in 2007 but remained the same the following year.

Thieves targeted

THEFTS have soared – but deaths and serious injuries in road accidents are dramatically down.

These are some of the latest findings of a report going before North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA) today.

The report revealed robberies, theft and burglaries across the county have risen by a startling 11.6 per cent over the past year.

Police across the region are now focusing on tackling thieves as they draw up their crime-busting mission for the year ahead.

NYPA chairman Jane Kenyon said today the credit crunch had probably contributed to spiralling theft but said new strategies would be installed to tackle the problem.

The report shows the number of offences including burglary, aggravated burglary, robbery of business properties and personal property, theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, aggravated vehicle-taking and theft from a vehicle has increased by 640 compared with the same period in 2007, from 5,498 up to 6,138.

Domestic burglary offences increased by 13 per cent, from 1,690 up to 1,919, compared with the previous year, while non-domestic burglary rose by nearly five per cent (147 offences) and vehicle crime climbed by four per cent – from 4,203 in 2007 up to 4,365 in 2008.

“I think these figures reflect the concerns that the North Yorkshire Police Authority are already well aware of and I’m confident that, with the strategies the force’s Chief Constable, Grahame Maxwell, is already putting in place, we can tackle this,” said Ms Kenyon.

“In view of the economic climate, burglary and theft in York – as across the county – is one area of crime that is most likely to increase, but we have measures in place to tackle such a rise.”

Meanwhile, the number of serious road accidents in York and North Yorkshire has fallen by 27 per cent in the last year.

Between April and December 2008, there were 481 collisions involving serious injury or death across the region, of which 44 claimed lives, 158 involved young people and 135 involved motorcyclists. That is a reduction of 177 from the year before and an improvement on the previous quarter – which saw an 18 per cent drop.

Inspector Dave Brown, North Yorkshire Police’s strategic roads policing chief, said the fall chimes with the force’s hard-hitting road safety campaign Operation Anvil, which was launched last March.

“We have seen a direct correlation in the reduction of offences such as drink-driving, driving without a seatbelt, speeding and using mobile phones when handing a vehicle – all major factors in causing road accidents – since Operation Anvil launched,” he said. “The figure is great news, but it is hard to know what to measure success against. To me, there are still far too many motorists ignoring the basic rules of the road – it beggars belief. When you look at the causes of most accidents, 95 per cent of the time it is due to the human factor – something which could have been avoidable like speeding or using mobile phones.

“We will making this a continued force priority over the next year and put the message out there that if you break the law, you will get caught.”

Courts urged to pass tougher sentences

JANE Mowat, director of Safer York Partnership, said there was no conclusive connection between economic downturn and an increase in crime.

“What is significant, is the number of offenders which happen to be out and about at any given time,” she said.

“And what we’re actually finding – because we have been out closely monitoring the increase in burglaries – is that the sentencing on offenders tends to be fairly lenient.

“Therefore, prolific offenders may only actually be taken out of the system for a short period of time. The main problem is because the sentences are so short.

“You have got somebody who has committed burglaries and their sentence is too lenient for them to receive the support that would change their offending behaviour.

“The other significant factor is that people still, despite the increase, do not secure their properties. They don’t lock windows and doors, and they leave their keys accessible for people – like in the front door.

“Therefore they’re making it relatively easy.”

Police reaction

NORTH Yorkshire Police said today the increase in burglaries was of concern to the force and, as a result, it had stepped up “preventative and problem solving activity”, with extra resources focused on reducing these crimes.

A police spokesman said: “We have put several measures in place, including our current crime reduction initiative, Operation Drystone, which will take extra resources and high-visibility patrols into hot-spot areas.

“Local safer neighbourhood teams are working together with road policing officers, CID and our partner agencies, including community safety partnerships and Neighbourhood Watch, to target areas of concern, in particular travelling criminals who come to our county with the specific intention of committing crime.

“Despite the increases in certain types of crime, North Yorkshire still remains one of the safest counties in the country and we are committed to ensuring that this continues.”

Operation Joypad

MORE than 1,000 homes across York were checked to see how easy they were to break into during a six-night police operation to crack down on burglaries.

As part of Operation Joypad, in the first week of December, North Yorkshire Police visited 1,124 households in the Westfield, Micklegate, Strensall and Fishergate areas, and identified 97 homes as easy targets.

Police teams tested the handles to see whether doors were locked, then rang the door bells to alert residents that their homes were a prime target for sneak-in burglars.

Operation Drystone

MORE than 100 people have been arrested and almost £16,500 has been seized by police seeking to smash North Yorkshire’s crime rings.

Operation Drystone is the force’s year-long campaign targeting individuals who bring misery to communities.

Since it was launched on October 27 last year, 112 people have been arrested, 59 warrants executed and 65 properties searched for various offences, including assault, possession of illegal drugs, theft, burglary and money laundering.

Suspected stolen property seized in the raids includes plant machinery, a lorry, trailers, PlayStations, cycles, a car, sat-navs, cameras, jewellery, a TV, laptop computers, electrical goods and boxed fragrances. Drugs were also seized, including cannabis, crack cocaine and amphetamines, along with cash totalling £16,455. More than 4,800 leaflets have been distributed, police have spent 1,153 hours on community patrol, 254 cars have been stopped, and 94 tip-offs have led to police action.