Domestic Burglary still on the rise

Ulster Unionist MLA for North Down and Policing Board member Leslie Cree has stated that he is concerned following the publication of figures from the first quarter of 2009-10 which indicate that domestic burglaries in Northern Ireland are continuing to rise.

Mr. Cree said, "Domestic burglary is a real personal intrusion and deeply interferes with a person’s sense of safety in the home – somewhere we are all supposed to be safe and feel the safest. We are seeing an overall increase in domestic burglary in the first quarter of this year in comparison to last year’s figures. It should be noted that last year’s domestic burglary figures were also up by 9.5%. This sustained increase would appear to mark a more serious trend.

"At a time when the police service is seeking to reduce the number of domestic burglaries by 9.2% we are seeing an overall increase of 3.6%. This is a worrying trend and I am seriously considering whether the initiative Operation Heartbreak is working. I do, however, recognise that burglaries are down significantly in urban regions with 111 less domestic burglaries than in the same period last year. But as domestic burglaries in rural regions are up by 32.4%, I would ask, are criminals merely diverting their energies to more rural areas?

"I will be continuing to liaise directly with the police to ensure that we see these figures driven down in the next quarter. We want Northern Ireland to be a place where we are free to live, work and socialise without the fear of crime."

Notes to editor

Operation Heartbreak consists of dedicated teams of officers including detectives, Tactical Support Groups, patrol officers and the Auto-Crime team from across the Belfast and Greater Belfast area targeting burglary hot-spots and priority offenders. The operation has been boosted by a number of targeted ‘surge’ operations directed at specific areas, crimes and offenders.

The operation's main priorities are creeper burglaries, car theft, handling stolen goods, bail offences and prolific offenders as well as those who are committing burglaries against older and vulnerable people in our community.