Posted: Wed 25th Jun 2014

‘Operation Lemongrass’ Launches In Wrexham

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jun 25th, 2014

This morning we published a round up of appeals from the police, with many being theft related, with police this morning announcing a crack down on burglaries.

North Wales Police say: “In an area which has already seen a reduction in offences, officers are focusing on tackling burglaries and are asking for the public’s support in keeping their own property secure and to help the police by providing information about the activities those involved in such criminality and how they dispose of the property they steal.”

At a time of year when the numbers of domestic burglaries increase, partly due to householders leaving their doors and windows insecure, a multi-faceted initiative has been launched by Wrexham Police in the areas covered by Wrexham town Inspector Paul Wycherley and Wrexham rural Inspector Jackie Downes.

It sees officers conducting reassurance visits – calling in on residents who were past victims of burglary. During the visits officer give crime prevention advice and, depending on the need, some residents will receive target hardening packs to increase their awareness of the risk that they present to themselves by not securing their property.

“It’s important to note that Wrexham is a safe place to live, work and visit,” said Detective Inspector Neil Harrison of Wrexham CID

“With the weather getting warmer it’s important that we all do what we can to protect our properties and help others do the same. When it comes to burglaries simple measures such as lights left on a timer to switch on early evening, securing windows and doors when leaving properties unoccupied or at night, can be enough to deter a thief.”

He added; “It is known that 30% of burglaries are committed at properties that have been left insecure. We hope that this initiative will help to drive down this figure by reducing the opportunities presented to those ready to commit such offences”.

“This Wrexham based Operation Lemongrass is part of the new North Wales-wide Don’t Make It Easy campaign tackling burglary. It will robustly target those causing the greatest harm in our communities and show that their actions will not be tolerated”

Inspector Paul Wycherley said: “This is all part of making Wrexham a safer place for people to live, we want our communities to feel safe and be safe when we know offenders target the changes in the seasons.”

Inspector Jackie Downes said: “This is a good example of the Neighbourhood Police Team prioritising crime prevention. By working with our partners and the community in this way, the aim is to reduce opportunity for any ‘would-be’ thieves and prevent crime from happening.”

This initiative is just part of the work that officers throughout county are doing to try and drive down burglaries and crime in general.

Officers in the Community Safety Department, local PCSO and volunteers are also actively engaging with members of the public and promoting crime prevention advice through various events.

You can view our appeals round up here.



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