Rochdale residents urged to combat crime this Christmas

Reporter: Nicola Bamford
Date online: 16 December 2008

Christmas may be the season of giving, but it is also the season of thieving as the number of car and household burglaries increases.

Since September, 494 domestic burglaries have taken place with an estimated 25% of these due to negligence with basic security. This percentage could be set to increase as thieves take advantage of opportunities presented by the number of gifts lying around.

Typical insecurities involve people leaving doors unlocked or windows open and theft can occur even when the resident is inside the house.

In response to this problem, police officers and PCSOs are patrolling more frequently in hot-spot areas as well as distributing crime prevention information packages to reassure residents.

Crime Reduction Advisor Jackie Bell, who is based at Rochdale police station, stated that some insurance companies may not pay out if the residence where the theft took place was insecure and that many items recovered from criminals do not find their way back to their owners.

Anyone with any information about domestic burglaries can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050.