POLICE covering Pendle have arrested 43 people and visited hundreds of suspected criminals as part of a county-wide crackdown on burglaries.
Officers in the Lancashire Constabulary’s Pennine Division - which covers Pendle, Burnley and Rossendale - carried out the activity as part of Operation Julius II – a force-wide initiative aimed at preventing and detecting burglary.
The operation, which will run until the end of March, was launched last month following a small rise in the number of burglaries reported to police.
During the first month of the crackdown, officers in the division have executed warrants at 15 addresses in Barrowford, Nelson, Colne, Burnley and Padiham and seized over £7,000 of suspected stolen property - including a plasma TV, a laptop and 50 Xbox games.
Officers have stopped and searched 358 people and 13 vehicles have been seized.
A further 443 people who have a known offending history have been visited and warned their behaviour is being monitored. Patrols have been increased in hotspot areas and visits are being made to 31 second hand shops where burglars may try to sell on stolen goods.
Leaflets have been delivered to people’s homes which have been found insecure and officers have been speaking to residents to remind them to lock their doors and windows.
SmartWater – a unique liquid that allows goods to be traced – has been applied to property at a number of homes and residents have been spoken to about the importance of keeping their homes secure.
Over 120 drivers have been stopped and given advice on car security and a number of tamper proof number plate screws have been fitted to people’s cars in a bid to drive down thefts.
Insp. Carole Langhorne said: “Burglary and car crimes remain low and we are determined to keep it that way. This operation allows us to targeting criminals who pose us the greatest threat around car crime and burglaries, while highlighting to residents the things that they can do to avoid becoming a victim.”
Anyone with information or concerns about burglary in their community can contact the police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.