Police alert after spate of thefts (From Swindon Advertiser)

Police alert after spate of thefts

11:30am Monday 13th February 2012 in Local

KEEPING valuables out of sight, wiping satnav marks away and leaving the glove compartment open are just some of the actions police in Gorse Hill are asking residents to take after a spate of attempted burglaries There have been at least 10 attempted car and garage break-ins since the end of December so police are urging residents to be careful.

PCSO Tom Fryszka, who has been delivering advice leaflets and patrolling over the weekend, said motorists need to make sure there is nothing on display when they leave their cars and make sure their garages are locked.

“Due to the layout in Gorse Hill we have got alleyways that people can disappear in. It is just opportunists, they grab property and do a runner,” he said.

“Since just before Christmas we have had about 10 incidents of attempted burglaries. Most of them have been attempts, not all of them have been successful. We are just trying to highlight and make sure people are as secure as possible.

“The cars are on the main drag outside people’s properties but it is because we have got the poorly lit street and there are so many alleyways.”

PCSO Fryszka said it can take as little as 10 seconds for opportunists to break-in.

“They identify the car and smash the window. They smash and grab, that leaves us with very little evidence,” he said.

Over recent weeks, Wiltshire Police have received a number of reports of vehicle crime across the county. This spate has included the theft of people’s possessions from vehicles and thefts of number plates and catalytic converters.

The latest technique adopted by thieves is to use Bluetooth on their mobile phones to identify satnavs that have been hidden away but are still on, with their Bluetooth enabled.

Motorists are being urged to clean satnav suction marks from their windscreen, make sure car doors, windows and sun roofs are properly closed and locked, and remove the stereo when the car is parked or mark it with the vehicle registration number.

They are being asked not to leave laptops, mobile phones, handbags, credit cards, cheque books or vehicle documents in the car and leave nothing on show.

Detective chief inspector, Nick John, head of volume crime at Wiltshire Police, said: “In order to prevent further thefts from taking place, officers are engaging in a number of proactive activities such as intelligence work around linked offences and targeted patrols in areas known to have a high number of thefts.

“We are also working with companies that deal in second hand property such as scrap metal merchants, in order to potentially recover stolen property and identify offenders.”

Anyone with information in relation to these thefts is asked to contact Wiltshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.