Villages are ‘hardened’ after burglary spate
POLICE officers have been ‘hardening’ homes in a number of Lutterworth-area villages after a spate of break-ins and burglaries in recent weeks.
The term refers to giving homeowners new locks, security devices and anti-crime advice following the break-ins, which have happened in Walcote, Cotesbach, Claybrooke Magna and Shawell.
Lutterworth neighbourhood sergeant Peter Jelbert said the mini crime wave was frustrating because there had been virtually no burglaries in the Lutterworth area over the summer.
He added: “What we do now after there has been a break-in is a process we call target hardening, or cocooning.
“Basically, it involves visiting not only the home where the break-in happened but also nearby properties to give people advice and adding things like window locks, registering people’s property on a national database and giving people advice on alarms.
“The idea is that every home nearby gets a face-to-face visit, so if no-one is in when our officers call round, they will get a second visit or a note through the door asking them to contact us to arrange something.”
The most recent break-ins happened in Shawell last Monday (August 20) between midday and 3pm and police say the incidents are unconnected to the earlier incidents in Walcote, Cotesbach and Claybrooke Magna, all on August 17.
Nothing was taken in either of the incidents in Shawell.
Sgt Jelbert said patrols would also be increased in the villages affected by the break-ins.
He added: “We are using number-plate recognition technology to monitor vehicles in those areas, so if one is flagged up as one which we have previous intelligence on, we might speak to the driver.”
For crime advice and information about how to help make your home more secure, visit www.leics.police.uk.
4 Diesel worth £4,500 was stolen from trucks parked next to a warehouse in Bilton Way, Lutterworth, last Thursday night.
Thieves siphoned off the diesel directly from the vehicles.
Anyone with information should phone Lutterworth Police on 101.
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Wednesday 19 June 2013
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