Revealed: Thousands of Shropshire homes targeted by burglars

New figures released today reveal the county has one of the highest rates for repeat attacks on homes.

West Mercia Police insists fighting burglary remains one of its top priorities.

But Victim Support, which obtained today's figures through a Freedom of Information request, said families' lives were continuing to be ruined by burglaries, which can have a devastating emotional effect on those targeted.

There is concern that houses burgled once are likely to be targeted again. Of the 25 UK police forces that responded to the FOI by Victim Support, West Mercia had the fifth highest percentage of homes that have been broken into more than once.

There were 526 properties broken into in Shropshire in 2010; 666 in 2011; 634 in 2012; 469 in 2013 and a slight rise up to 497 last year. And there have currently been 146 break-ins across the county in 2015, the force said.

Kieran Bodill, of West Mercia Police, said: "We take incidents of burglary very seriously. This can be very distressing to those involved.

"Our local safer neighbourhood team work closely with victims when incidents happen and we encourage local residents to be vigilant with their own security measures.

"We would urge people to ensure that they lock up, even when they are at home.

"A majority of burglaries take place due to insecure doors or windows. So people need to make sure they close the windows of unoccupied rooms and don't leave valuable items, including car keys, on full view.

"Security measures should also be put in place to ensure garden sheds and garages are fully secure, locks should be added to gates and where possible, and we would also recommend the use of alarms or personal CCTV."

Victim Support said the psychological impact of burglary was just as "devastating" to those targeted to that of losing prized and sentimental items.

Along with security company ADT, the national charity has launched a campaign called "Take No More" to tackle burglary across the country.

The campaign aims to promote crime prevention schemes, increase awareness of the support services available and help victims get justice in court.

Figures revealed in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Victim Support revealed nearly 3,000 homes had been broken into in Shropshire since 2010 up to the present day.

The wider picture shows almost 20,000 addresses have been raided in West Mercia force area, which takes in the county.

Of those 20,000, more than 3,000 have been burgled at least twice.

No figures are available to show the number of repeat burglaries in Shropshire.

Victim Support director Karen Froggatt said: "Thousands of homes are being blighted by burglaries.

"Getting burgled once can be devastating, but to be burgled multiple times is, understandably, extremely difficult for victims to recover from.

"Victims tell us that they suffer far more than lost possessions when their home is burgled, they lose their sense of safety in their own homes.

"Repeat victimisation can have a long lasting and widespread impact on people's lives. That's why it's so important that victims of burglary can get practical help and have someone to talk to, when they do experience this awful crime."

Nationally, around one in 11 (8.6 per cent) of the 1.13 million burglaries recorded by the 25 responding police forces across England and Wales were repeat burglaries, the statistics for 2008 to 2013 show.

Northamptonshire had the highest repeat burglary rate, with nearly one in three (30.3 per cent) burglaries happening in premises that had already been targeted at least twice before.

Derbyshire and Gloucestershire also had a high proportion of repeat burglaries, with one in four (26.6 per cent) and more than one in five (22.08 per cent) respectively of all addresses burgled.

Only Bedfordshire Police provided more detailed information through the FOI, and revealed one address was burgled nine times.

Five other premises were broken into six times and 22 more were burgled five times, Bedfordshire Police said.

Gail Hunter spokesperson for ADT said: "When burglaries happen, we know it's not just what they take, it's what they leave behind.

"Burglary can be a terrible experience and, disappointingly, the figures show that there is a strong possibility of being burgled again. Our aim is to deter burglars and give people peace of mind.

"We want to work with communities in areas that have suffered high levels of burglary to offer crime prevention advice and reduce the risk of repeat victimisation."

In 2010 there were 3,202 burglaries in West Mercia, of which 526 were in Shropshire.

The following year, in 2011, there were 3,026 break-ins across the force area, with 666 of those occurring in the county.

In 2012 there were 2,902 homes targeted in West Mercia, of which 634 were in Shropshire, and the figures for 2013 were 2,549 and 469 respectively.

Last year there were 2,696 burglaries in West Mercia, of which 497 were in Shropshire; and this year so far there have been 810 break-ins across the force area of which 146 have been in the county.