Tyrone Constitution - News - Domestic burglaries in Omagh area increase, report reveals

News

Domestic burglaries in Omagh area increase, report reveals

Thursday, 2 February 2012

THE number of domestic burglaries reported locally increased by over four per cent between April and December 2011 compared to the same period the previous year, it was revealed in the Omagh area nine month policing report, which was presented to members of Omagh District Policing Partnership at its latest meeting.
According to the report, which was presented by Omagh Area Commander, Sue Steen, a total of 72 incidents of domestic burglary were reported - an increase of 4.3 per cent on the previous year's figure of 69.
Citing a rise in the number of 'travelling criminals' to the area as a possible cause of the increase, the area commander said: "We had three additional burglaries than on the same time last year, so we have a bit of work to do there. In Omagh we are extremely good at targeting and prosecuting the indigenous criminals - those who live in this particular part of the world.
“Where we and other neighbouring districts are suffering is being the victim of travelling criminals who are coming up from Belfast and from the east and also coming across the border as well, and we are working with our colleagues in Garda Siochana to look at those particular individuals, if we are able to get any names."
Urging members of the public to alert police to any suspicious activity in their area in a bid to combat the number of domestic burglaries locally, she continued: "If you are an unfortunate victim of a burglary, or you see any suspicious activity in your area or suspicious vehicles, please report that to the police because the earlier we know about it the earlier we can investigate.
“If it's a vehicle and you're able to get a registration from it, we can do some checks on that particular vehicle and find out what that vehicle was doing in the area. They may well have been there for some very innocent reason, or likewise they may be there to look at a particular house or shop with a view to committing some sort of crime, but in having the police being able to come to their door and ask what they were doing in the area, we have certainly found that it has been a deterrent."
‘Encouraging progress'
Elsewhere, the nine-month report revealed 'encouraging progress' in other areas including the detection rate for burglary in the area, which had increased by 7.6 per cent on the previous year's detection rate of 3.6 per cent.
Describing these figures as a 'good news story' for the Omagh area, the senior police officer said she was hopeful that police would be able to increase that figure further by the end of the reporting year.
Area commander Steen also reported that local police had been able to maintain its year-on-year reduction of just over eight per cent in the number of thefts occurring.
Commenting on this, she said: "Although I don't have the ratified results yet as to our successes over the Christmas period or how our performance was then, we certainly did put a number of initiatives in place both in Omagh town and in the rural areas to combat thefts, in particular things like shoplifting and thefts from vehicles. So I am pleased that we have been able to sustain the reduction there."
Meanwhile, a total of 256 incidents of non-domestic violence with injury crimes were reported - an increase of just over one per cent on the previous year's figure of 253.