Burglars Beware – Telford Police Are Coming For You

Telford burglars beware - the police will find you.

That is the message from West Mercia Police officers working to drive down burglary levels across the Telford and Wrekin area.

On Thursday 1^st November 2012, dozens of detectives, response, road and neighbourhood policing officers will be targeting suspects, their homes and vehicles as part of Citadel - the force's ongoing operation to reduce burglary.

A 30-year-old man was arrested early morning on Thursday 1^st November 2012 in connection with several burglaries in Telford over the past few months and is due to be interviewed.

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary, acting on behalf of West Mercia Police, arrested a man in his 50s late on Wednesday 31^st October 2012 on suspicion of burglary at a house in Newport several days earlier. Officers from Telford have travelled down to Hampshire to interview him.

The Road Policing Support Team will sit up on several routes in the area, stopping vehicles suspected of being involved in crime.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be patrolling residential areas, assisting officers carrying out any warrants and arrests and issuing security and reassurance messages to householders.

Those who have been a victim of burglary will be visited by officers and offered timer switches and Lighten Up leaflets - West Mercia's security campaign for when it gets dark earlier.

Chief Inspector Paul Arnold, who is overseeing the current Citadel operation, said: "Burglary remains the top priority for police here in Telford and we are working extremely hard to bring levels back to where we would like them to be.

"Citadel is a wide-scale initiative with several strands, including the targeting of known offenders, increased patrols, crime prevention advice and even working closely with jewellers who may be offered stolen goods for sale so that burglars struggle to sell on their ill-gotten gains."

Citadel was launched in September in response to a significant increase in burglary across West Mercia's force area - mostly in the Shropshire and Telford areas.

Part of the operation sees the launch of the dotMailer computerised messaging service, which allows the police to keep in touch with Neighbourhood Watch and any others who sign up with the latest news on crimes in their area.

It allows for swift updates about incidents, crime trends and general police advice at the click of a button.

Issued: Thursday 1^st November 2012