Hackney,
01
October
2015
|
23:00
Europe/London

Don't become a burglary victim

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Hackney Council and Police are urging residents to be extra vigilant, amid concerns that opportunistic burglars may be targeting properties in their area.

Although the number of burglaries has fallen, some homes in some areas are seen as an easy target by burglars. This could be because they have bushes or trees that obscure windows, or ladders and other tools laying around in the garden. Maybe a window has been left open offering quick and easy access.

The Police and Council continue to work hard together to drive down burglary by patrolling certain areas by targeting known offenders and providing crime prevention advice for victims and their neighbours.

From October, as part of Operation Tarian a uniformed police officer will visiting approximately 600 homes in the Leabridge area. The officer will carry out a crime prevention survey and provide tips and advice to residents to make their homes safer. If needed, residents will be given window locks, light-timer switches and door frame reinforcers known as London and Birmingham Bars to make their homes more secure.

Police and council officers will also be at a community safety stall in a nearby street to discuss issues of concern and offer crime prevention advice.

Cllr Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor, Hackney Council
Although the number of burglaries in Hackney have gone down, we know burglars seek out homes they see as an easy target. We could all take some precautions that would make our home less likely to be burgled. It could be what prevents you from becoming a victim of crime.

To help continue to drive down burglary in Hackney a uniformed police officer will be visiting homes offering advice on simple changes that can be made to make homes more secure.
Cllr Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor, Hackney Council

Borough Commander Simon Laurence, said: "Burglary is a crime that has a huge emotional and long-lasting impact on the victim and it can be extremely difficult for them to come to terms with the fact that a burglar has been inside their home - somewhere that is supposed to be a place of safety.

"I'm urging residents to assist us by thinking about home security and making sure they're not leaving themselves vulnerable to burglars. It really is as simple as locking doors and windows, using lights on timer switches in the hours of darkness and not advertising the fact that you've got new, expensive gadgets in your home by leaving them on view near windows or leaving packaging and boxes outside your house."

The Council and Police plan to visit surrounding and other areas in the coming months. The project has been funded through the Safer Neighbourhood Board with money from the Mayor of London Office for Policing and Crime. Older and vulnerable residents will have security upgrades carried out by the Hackney Homes Handy Man scheme.

Under the new 'Met Trace' programme, in partnership with SmartWater, 4,000 homes in burglary hot spots received a free kit to protect their property.

The kits contain an invisible property marking solution, allowing owners to mark their possessions with a unique forensic code. They also contain warning stickers, for residents to display to deter burglars. This code can then be used by the police to trace the items should they ever be stolen and to link suspects to crime scenes.

If you'd like to talk to someone about Operation Tarian call: 020 8356 3170.