Police blog: As the school holidays arrive, here at West Mercia Police we are continuing to roll out our summer home security campaign, writes Detective Sergeant Matt Gibbons from Telford & Wrekin’s Burglary Unit.

In this blog I’d like to once again highlight some simple crime prevention advice that local residents can follow and also explain a little more about the work of the Burglary Unit and the important role they play in ensuring Telford & Wrekin remains a safe place to live.

I head up Telford & Wrekin’s burglary unit; a team of police officers who are dedicated to investigating burglaries and maximising every opportunity to catch the people responsible and prosecute them.

We have seen a significant reduction in burglaries across Telford & Wrekin in the last 12 months which is due to excellent work by the team, valuable information being received from the public and several advances in forensic technology which assists us in securing evidence and bringing offenders to justice.

However, local residents can help us to reduce burglary even further by following some very simple crime prevention advice.

Although burglaries remain relatively low in Telford & Wrekin, many people leave their homes literally wide open to opportunist thieves during the summer months by leaving windows or doors open or unlocked.

Don’t leave doors or accessible windows open or unlocked in unoccupied rooms – even if you are only away for a very short time.

If you are in the garden and leave the front door open, it would only take a matter of seconds for an opportunist thief to walk in and steal valuable items.

Remember to lock up properly before you go to bed and only leave windows open in the rooms where people are sleeping.

If you’re going away – whether overnight or on a longer holiday – you should also ask yourself if your home looks lived in. Let a neighbour or friend know that you’re going away and arrange for them to check on your house to collect mail, open/close curtains, park on your drive, etc. Use timer switches to turn lights on during the evenings and also remember to cancel any milk and newspaper deliveries. A few simple steps will ensure your property is less vulnerable to burglars and you can enjoy your time away with peace of mind.

Burglary can have a significant impact on people’s lives and we strive to provide a professional approach to every incident that is reported.

Recent advances in forensic technology have enabled us to achieve some very successful results which may not have been possible previously.

For example, we recently arrested and charged a man who was traced back to a burglary by a single fragment of glass. The glass – found on the sole of the offender’s trainer – was linked back to an address in Telford where a window was smashed to gain entry and burgle the property.

This was a very satisfying result for the team and it sends out a strong message to other potential burglars that forensic evidence often can’t be seen by the eye and doesn’t leave the burglary scene just because they do.

When investigating a burglary, we spend time with the victims, provide them with crime prevention advice and make further enquiries into the recovery of any stolen property.

More often than not, when officers conduct warrants to recover stolen property, they are left with unidentifiable items. We would recommend security marking your valuables and then registering them for free on Immobilise, the national property register (www.immobilise.com). It only takes a couple of minutes and increases your chances of getting your valuables back if they are lost or stolen.

For more information on home security, visit the Advice Centre on the force website www.westmercia.police.uk or call 0300 333 3000. To report information, contact us on the same number or you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.