Hamilton Police are asking City residents to take a bow after a spike in residential burglaries a fortnight ago has been turnaround with one senior officer urging home occupiers to remain vigilant.
City Tactical Coordinator, Senior Sergeant Freda Grace, said compared to the weekend two weeks ago when there were 78 burglaries in Hamilton, last weekend the figure dropped to 33.
"That's still far too high but it goes to show the difference a week can make and that by highlighting an issue and making everyone aware of the problem, progress can be made.
"As an example, North Hamilton residents made aware of the issue keep it in the back of their mind and in two incidents teenage offenders were seen acting suspiciously last week resulting in neighbours calling 111 and responding officers making several arrests."
Ms Grace said she had no doubt the arrest of six burglars had had a serious impact on those who breaking in to peoples homes and while it was good to see the numbers drop by more than half there's still a long way to go.
"The reality is that in any large population you'll have a percentage of bad apples, a number of fully engaged, proactive, community minded people and a larger 'she'll be right' element.
"The challenge for Police is to get the 'she'll be righters' to become crime fighters and to join the ranks of the community minded. So when Police patrol high-risk areas in unmarked cars, as we've been doing over recent days, the number of unsecured homes drops, as does the number of burglaries."
Ms Grace said once the opportunist burglars had been deterred Police could work on preventing the activities of dedicated offenders who derive their income from the proceeds of crime.
"There will always be a degree of criminal behaviour- that's why we need organisations like the Police, Community Patrols, Neighbourhood Support and the independent Crimestoppers.
"An example of the randomness of such crime is an 84-year-old woman in bed in her Silverdale Rd home about 9.20pm last night listening to the wireless last night who heard a noise in her lounge. Going to investigate she was confronted by two men in her home, a frightening situation for anyone let alone a little old lady."
Ms Grace said the offenders didn't speak or harm the woman and one fled straight away but the second offender couldn't get out and the victim had to let him out the door before raising the alarm.
"These types of offenders targeting vulnerable old people in their beds are who the Police really want to target.
"If we can get people to secure their homes when going out, install and turn on their burglar alarms and secure their vehicles and car keys and keep an eye on their neighbours' homes then they are doing their part and Police can continue to do theirs- hold people to account for their offending and place them before the courts. It's all about making safer communities together."
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