Reports have shown that a rise in organised crime could be threatening the public’s residential security by causing a spike in domestic burglaries. Gangs of thieves have spent weeks thoroughly targeting one specific area, before moving onto the next target, with the UK’s wealthiest areas being hit the hardest by this new surge in organised burglary. SmokeCloak are asking just how bad the surge is, and what we as individuals can do to protect our residential security in these difficult times.
Is domestic burglary on the rise?
Figures have shown that, when compared to the previous 12 months, the county of Surrey saw a 76% increase in burglaries in the year to end of September 2017. This was not an isolated surge, with Hampshire seeing a rise of 74%, Wiltshire a rise of 69%, Durham 61% and Lincolnshire and Suffolk 60%.
Supt Sean Wilson is the lead officer in charge of tackling burglaries in the London Metropolitan Police and has said that the days of the opportunist burglar are behind us. We are now seeing burglaries carried out by organised gangs which are “far more sophisticated”, using social media to choose their next victims and coordinating their crimes with mobile phones.
In Nottinghamshire, police chiefs have declared burglary a priority and, for the first time, have set up two dedicated burglary squads with this goal in mind.
In some areas of Derby, homeowners have been staying awake in shifts at night, following a spate of burglaries. Some are even carrying out daytime patrols following a staggering 30 raids on homes in the areas surrounding Littleover and Blagreaves.
How many burglaries were there in total?
There were almost 262,000 domestic burglaries throughout 2017, according to the latest figures. A breakdown of these statistics indicates that the areas hit hardest by this surge in domestic burglary are the UK’s wealthier towns, suburbs and villages. Amongst those most frequently targeted were Durham, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, South Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire.
These sophisticated and thoroughly planned burglaries are being carried out by organised gangs, some of which are using high performance cars with fake registrations. Gangs like these have also been blamed for crimes in Derbyshire, Wales, London and East Anglia.
According to Sean Wilson, thieves have been taking money, jewellery, expensive vehicles, and laptops and phones, with most of the loot being moved abroad within days.
Some UK police forces have been criticised in recent years for their response to burglaries, or argued lack thereof.
How can we ensure our own residential security?
With domestic burglary on the rise and police forces not providing sufficient response to these crimes, many members of the public are looking to take their residential security into their own hands. There is, however, an answer…
A SmokeCloak residential security system can be installed in your home and will actively deter criminals. Should an intruder enter your home, an impenetrable cloud of fog is deployed, flooding the premises and rendering the thief temporarily sightless, meaning that they are unable to see your belongings in order to take them, and are forced to flee. After all, you can’t steal what you can’t see.
In addition to this, the mere advertisement that there is a SmokeCloak installed in your property will actively deter intruders, as they will know that it completely removes their chance of making it out with you stuff and thus won’t bother trying.
Residential security by SmokeCloak
To find out about having a SmokeCloak residential security system installed in your home, or to book a demonstration, contact SmokeCloak today. Please feel free to call us on 01604 839000, or fill out our contact form, and we will happily discuss your residential security needs with you.