Wiltshire Police stepping up efforts to tackle burglary

Wiltshire Police say they're doing all they can to tackle burglaries across the county.

The force is running a month long campaign - they've told us more than 320 residential burglaries have been reported in Wiltshire since April.

Stats from October also show that local officers are attending 96.1% of all residential burglaries and 100% of all reports of distraction burglaries.

Police are also urging us to hide Christmas presents when we leave the house - to prevent opportunistic thefts.

Detective Inspector Darren Ambrose, of the Burglary Team, said:

“Burglary is one of the most impactive crimes that a member of the public can suffer. Your home is the place you should feel most safe and secure and somebody breaking in can change the life of a victim and their family forever. That is why burglary is a priority for the Force and why we are taking steps to improve our approach to dealing with residential burglary.

“The newly established Burglary Team are able to support local neighbourhood officers investigating burglary to help reduce the number of burglaries and provide the victims of burglary with the best possible service.”

Tips to prevent further incidents

Wiltshire Police have issued a series of tips to make sure we're not the next victim - they include:

• Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house, even when just in the garden - make sure you have approved locks or bolts to all doors and windows

• Never leave a spare key in a hiding place like in a plant pot or letter box - a thief knows all the hiding places

• Register all serial numbers from electrical items, tools and garden equipment with Immobilise.com the free national property register and mark items without serial numbers with an artificial DNA property marker such as Smartwater or SelectaDNA

• Use a timer to set lights to mimic your usual activity when you are not at home

• Do not open the door to anyone you don't know or are not expecting, always checking by using a spy-hole or look through a window and don't trust an ID card

• Trim back any plants and hedges at the front of your property to no higher than one meter to remove hiding places

• Always report any suspicious activity, note any vehicle registrations, descriptions of persons involved and direction of travel

• Consider installing a monitored burglar alarm, and only use a company that is registered or certified with the NSI or the SSIAB

• Take photographs of all jewellery including hallmarks and keep them safe, also making sure that you have up to date contents insurance

• Keep all keys, purses and wallets out of sight and away from the letterbox

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