A detective said "burglary crimes have reduced significantly" in Nottingham following proactive police work across the city. Detective Inspector Chris Berryman, who leads the burglary and robbery teams, went on to reassure communities that the "national picture is different to Nottingham" - and that burglaries are treated seriously by officers.
It comes after reports which claim that some police forces across the country fail to send officers to house burglaries. DI Berryman, however, said Nottinghamshire Police has dedicated teams who respond to burglaries in the city as well as the wider county.
Nottinghamshire Police shared that burglaries fell by more than a third across the county during the year to March 31 compared to pre-pandemic levels. "In terms of police not attending burglaries - that might be the national picture", DI Berryman said.
READ MORE: Anger as trees uprooted and stolen from garden
"In terms of Nottinghamshire, we have dedicated teams investigating burglaries. In the city, we have two teams investigating burglaries and robberies.
"And then in the county area, we have a team dedicated to burglaries", he added. "I think, traditionally, this is a crime that impacts people psychologically as well as physically because it is very personal.
"Somebody goes into someone's home and takes their belongings - some of which are sentimental. I think it is important to make sure they get the level of investigation they deserve because they are very serious crimes.
"People do not expect having someone coming into their home. That is where they should feel the most safe and secure - it should be the most relaxing environment."
He also said that dedicated teams also run proactive patrols in the area, having identified trends and using intelligence to prevent crimes. "We have recently had a spike of offences in the city central area, which coincided with students returning to university.
"Whenever they come back there is always an increase in burglary offences. We have arrested a few people in the last couple of weeks and it has reduced again, essentially by taking positive action."
Burglary has fallen dramatically over the last three years and has coincided with the introduction of specialist teams of detectives who work every day to bring burglars to justice. More than 30 detectives currently work in four burglary and robbery teams operating in Nottingham city and the wider county.
"In terms of the city central area", DI Berryman said, "we have got two teams that investigate all the burglaries and robberies. But we also work with our neighbourhood policing teams - so we can target what areas to patrol."
He added: "In the areas that are causing us the most problems - we have high visibility patrolling officers to reassure communities. So not only do we investigate them to identify people, but we also look at series and trends - and try to work with our departments within the police to try to stop them in the future.
"If we identify an issue, we will put resources into that area to try to reduce offending. We share a lot of information, and I think we have got good processes in place that helps us investigate and reduce crime."
DI Berryman has reassured communities across Nottinghamshire that burglaries are treated as a serious crime by the force. He also advised students to make sure they are secured before leaving their homes, to avoid being an easy target for burglars.
READ NEXT:
