Operation Brightshadow reduces burglaries by a third

House burglaries in Basildon fell by more than a third thanks to an operation which saw police actively follow suspected criminals for a week.

The number of house burglaries reported to police fell by 36 per cent during Operation Brightshadow, which ran from Monday, October 3 to Sunday, October 9, compared to the week before.

Burglaries of sheds, garages and commercial buildings also fell by 69 per cent during the operation which saw police overtly observe five previously convicted criminals who they believe are actively committing burglary and handling stolen goods.

Those being observed were given a letter at the start of the week to explain the operation and then followed so they couldn't commit crime.

The unique tactic was first used in Basildon in May 2009. The first of it's kind in Essex, it was such a success it has since been repeated in other areas of Essex and adopted by other police forces in the UK.

This month the operation was rolled out as part of the Basildon Community Safety Partnership's Burglary Tasking and Finishing Group which sees police, Essex Probation, the Drugs Intervention Programme and Basildon Borough Council pooling their resources to tackle burglary.

During the operation those who have drug problems are given the chance to speak to a worker from the Drugs Intervention Programme who can offer support should they want to turn their lives around.

Inspector Simon Gray chairs the Burglary Tasking Finishing Group and led the operation.

He said: "I am pleased to see that during the deployment of Bright Shadow, there was over a third less burglaries reported to police.

"This tactic has been an effective weapon in our war against burglary, and I hope we have sent out a stern message to anyone wanting to commit burglary that you will be relentlessly pursued by police until you change your ways.

"We will continue to work with those targeted, along with our partners, to ensure they are given the opportunity to divert their lives away from a life of crime.

"I know some people will ask us if this is a breach of their human rights, but this was a big consideration when the operation was drawn up in 2009. The Human Rights Act requires us to balance the rights of the individual and the rights of the community, and time and time again, the rights of the community not to be burgled and have their lives turned upside down always wins."

Councillor Frank Tomlin, Basildon Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for Community Safety, added: "These are excellent results and I am delighted that the operation had such a significant impact on the number of burglaries in the borough.
"It is now vital that we continue to work together as a partnership to ensure that these prolific offenders do not go back to their old ways."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• operation
• Essex Police
• Operation brightshadow
• criminal
• burglary
• burglar
• Basildon
• Pitsea
• crime
• handling stolen goods
• prison
• convicted criminal
• inspector
• police officer
• house burglary