An ongoing campaign to protect people across Leeds from burglary has resulted in a 14.5 per cent reduction in offences over the last year.
The combined efforts of West Yorkshire Police, Leeds City Council and other key agencies, under the Safer Leeds partnership, has seen 816 fewer burglaries between January and December last year compared to the previous year.
This included an 18 per cent cut in offences in October to December, compared to the same time the previous year, which can traditionally be challenging with longer hours of darkness and the Christmas period. This was the best ever reduction during this period.
A total of 4,813 recorded offences for the 2013 calendar year sees Leeds on track to achieve its lowest burglary figures ever recorded.
In 2012/13, work to tackle burglary saw figures reach an all-time low. The partnership set itself a challenging burglary reduction target of 5,999 offences for the year 2012/13 but managed to surpass that with the total number of burglaries coming in at 5,305.
This represented a 31 per cent reduction compared to 2011/12 where the number of burglaries stood at 7,662, and a 61 per cent drop compared to ten years ago (2003/04) when the number of burglaries was 13,776.
As of the end of December 2013, Leeds had the second highest percentage reduction in burglary compared to other ‘core’ cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield) – and improved its position moving from seventh place to fourth.
The continuing improvements have been driven by a wide-ranging campaign that combines a number of innovative approaches.
These have ranged from targeting the areas most at risk of burglary through scientific analysis of crime patterns to focusing on known offenders to catch those who continue to commit crime and working with the Probation Service and other agencies to help those willing to break the cycle of offending.
Work to tackle burglary and the trade in stolen goods has recently been bolstered by additional resources from the Force’s Operation Viper initiative.
Crime prevention work has included improving home security in areas of concern and encouraging people to register their valuables at www.immobilise.com
The creation of the role of real-time investigators within the district’s control rooms has also played a key part in tackling burglary. These officers bring an investigative overview to reports of burglary as they come in and maximise the opportunities to target known offenders who may be linked to the crimes
Chief Superintendent Paul Money, Leeds District Commander, said: “The significant reductions our combined efforts have produced are really pleasing, most importantly because behind those figures are 816 families or individuals who have not had to suffer the trauma of having their homes invaded and their property stolen.
“That said, one burglary will always be one too many and we remain firmly committed to doing all we can to keep reducing the number of victims even further.
“When Leeds originally came under the spotlight for having unacceptably high levels of burglary, we put a detailed strategy in place and began working closely with the council and other agencies to tackle the problem. It is reassuring to see that work continuing to pay off and putting us on target to reduce burglary to its lowest level yet.
“Since August last year, the policing structure of Leeds was reorganised into one district from three divisions. Our new operating model has brought greater flexibility, increased co-ordination and economies of scale that are clearly making our work to tackle burglary even more effective.”
Councillor Mick Coulson, Leeds City Council’s lead member for Community Safety said: “We are working extremely hard at Safer Leeds to reduce burglaries in communities across our city, and it is undoubtedly very positive news that in 2013 we have seen a 14.5 per cent reduction in recorded offences.
“We certainly cannot afford to be complacent however given the devastating impact this crime can have on its victims, and I would like to assure the residents of Leeds that with our multi-agency partners, every resource at our disposal will be used in our aim to drive down offences further.”
Alongside the reductions in burglary Leeds has also seen a two per cent reduction in robbery (908 in 2012 to 887 in 2013), a three per cent reduction in violence against the person (7,902 to 7,629) and a two per cent reduction in vehicle crime (7,629 to 7,457).
