Burglary
Distraction Burglary Projects funded by Home Office
The following projects were funded by the Home Office as part of their Reducing Burglary Initiative (RBI). Click here for further information on RBI.
Derbyshire Police, on behalf of a consortium of forces including Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands, were granted £168,000 for a project to tackle distraction burglary. The funding was used to set up a database and to employ an analyst for operation "Liberal". This helped analyse cases of distraction burglary and thereby targeted operations against this form of crime.
The contact point for the project is D.I. Tracey Harrison on 01773 522061.
South Yorkshire Police, in partnership with Sheffield City Council and other partners, were granted £272,765 to tackle distraction burglary in Sheffield. The main interventions included
working with repeat victims and those at most risk to reduce their susceptibility and their fear of crime
use of covert CCTV to obtain evidence of repeat victimisation
provision of alarms
a system to provide early warning to carers of local distraction burglary activity
enhanced investigation and linking of distraction burglaries
increased use of a dedicated surveillance unit to target offenders
awareness raising for potential victims and the local community including through an advertising campaign
The contact point for the project is Detective Superintendent Nick Kinsella, telephone 0114 252 3300.
West Yorkshire Police, in collaboration with Leeds City Council and a variety of other partners, were granted £554,098 for a project to tackle distraction burglary in the Leeds area. The main interventions included
employment of a distraction burglary co-ordinator
employment of a dedicated detective constable and a scenes of crime officer
face lifting of dwelling house exteriors to make them less identifiable as being occupied by an elderly person, improved care and support for elderly victims of bogus offences and third party audit system to prevent unusual withdrawals from bank accounts belonging to elderly people.
target hardening and crime prevention packages for potential victims
raising public awareness and producing an informational video
the creation of a ‘check-point’ scheme which will contain a list of approved contractors who provide a reliable service at a reasonable cost
The contact point is Laura Sanders on 0113-243-6511.
The Distraction Burglary Task Force was granted £800,000 to help it take forward its action plan that included producing a good practice guide, testing devices to help potential victims and raising awareness. It was also granted £200,000 to carry out research on:
the psycho-social factors of potential victims which contribute to their ability to withstand attempted distraction burglaries
the impact of distraction burglary on victims
the extent of the problem in ethnic minority communities.
Last update: 20/11/03