How we can all play a part in preventing acquisitive crimes - Dr Alan Billings

Theft is where property is taken but not through the use of force. Robbery involves force or the threat of force. Burglary involves the illegal entry of a building and taking of property.

Each has a considerable impact on individuals and communities and the overall sense of safety and security. Those who have been burgled will often talk about the feeling of shock, of violation and of nervousness about returning home subsequently, or just being in the house at the time of day or night when the burglary is thought to have happened. In some cases the trauma has incapacitated people over long periods of time.

The crimes themselves often lead to other crimes. Burglars, for example, steal items to sell in order to satisfy a drug habit, which in turn fuels the illegal drugs trade.

Acquisitive crimes disturb the lives of individuals, but they can also devastate communities. A spate of burglaries causes fear in an area. Theft and robbery create a sense of insecurity in public places such as parks or town centres.

The campaign sought to raise awareness and make us all take some responsibility for our own safety. I recall being at a community meeting in the Crosspool area of Sheffield following several nocturnal break-ins at local shops. It transpired that one shop had been broken into repeatedly through the same ground floor, insecure back window.

Each time, the shopkeeper had simply replaced the broken glass. One of the other shopkeepers present pointed out in no uncertain terms that if the residents wanted the help of the police, the police deserved their help as well by not being so complacent and looking out for their own security. Some messages are best delivered by someone other than a police officer.

Nevertheless, there are designing out crime officers (DOCOs) and I am surprised that more use is not made of them. A retail outlet in Doncaster, that had its plate glass front doors rammed several times as thieves broke in to steal, was finally persuaded by a DOCO to fit metal roller blinds that pulled down over the glass frontage after hours.

Result: no more break-ins. Until, that is, one evening the person locking up at the store pulled the roller blind down but didn’t ensure it closed all the way to the ground. The thief wriggled under the gap of a few inches and made off with goods that he could push through the same small gap on the way out.

DOCO recommendations, though, do need to be put in place. The regional director of another well-known chain of convenience stores told me that they would continue to place items that were easy to pocket and thieve by the cash registers despite the advice of the police. These were impulse buys as people waited in the queue and they wouldn’t pick them up elsewhere in the store. They were also easy for shoplifters to grab and run.

A shortened version of the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire’s latest blog post.