20
May
2013
By Calvin at 15:35 GMT, 13 years ago
In recent weeks a number of houses in Warwickshire and across the West Mercia Police area have been burgled with the thieves targeting collections of jewellery.
In some cases the thieves have stolen large quantities of irreplaceable family collections. Other jewellery with significant religious symbolism has also been taken. In all cases the sentimental value of the pieces and the sense of loss has been immense.
As part of Operation Citadel, the proactive campaign to reduce domestic burglary across both force areas, police are issuing advice to help reduce opportunities for burglars to steal treasured property such as jewels and ceremonial adornments.
In some ethnic communities large collections of family jewellery is brought together to celebrate a significant occasion or religious event. The jewellery is highly individual and in some cases many years old, having been handed down through generations.
In preparation for these special family occasions, the police advise that until the jewellery is ready to be worn or displayed it should always be kept in a bank security facility, rather than kept within the house.
Inspector Pete Funnell, Territorial Policing Support at West Mercia Police, said: “Burglars are wise to the places that people hide their valuable possessions. Some are becoming increasingly sophisticated and even take metal detectors with them to help locate metal items within the house, either finding the jewellery itself, or to find personal safes hidden inside the house. We also have had reports of burglars going into the loft to search for high value items.”
“In many cases the jewellery is highly individual. We therefore want people to make sure they have an accurate record of their jewels and advise people to take photographs. These should be on a plain background, so the detail can be clearly seen and should also include a ruler or another object which can be used to indicate the size of the pieces. Always keep the photographs in a safe place, separate from the items of jewellery......
.....Anyone with any information about a burglary, or property which they believe to be stolen, is asked to contact the police by dialling the non emergency number 101. Or they can contact independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 where information can be given anonymously.
Please follow this link to the rest of West Mercia Police’s press release
TCPW Comment
Some very useful advice from Inspector Funnell, but it might be worth bearing in mind that whilst using a safe deposit box in the bank is obviously a very sensible suggestion the service is not quite as available as it once was.
In April this year Barclays told customers to empty their safe deposit boxes as they were discontinuing the service by Christmas. HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds are also withdrawing the service mainly by running the service down by not offering the facility to new customers. On the other hand State Bank of India are making more deposit boxes available and new bank on the street, Metro Bank, have 16 vaults of deposit boxes in their branches in the SE of England. The annual cost to use these services range from around £130 for a space measuring 50mm X 280mm X 230mm to more than £2,000 for a box the size of a suitcase. There are also non-bank companies that offer safe deposit boxes, such as Metropolitan Safe Deposits in London
Terms and conditions apply to the use of all these safe deposit boxes and items such as chemicals, drugs, guns and laundered money are not allowed!
Whilst you should check with the bank or security company about insurance cover you should always speak with your insurers to ensure the stored items are covered both in the secure storage facility and in transit. Should you wish to keep them at home you must ensure that they are kept in a safe that is cash-rated to the necessary level and approved by your insurer. Your insurer may insist that the safe used to store insured valuables is professionally installed.
Further advice:
Safes: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/security-inside-the-home/485/safes/
Antiques and works of art (inc. Jewellery) for photographing, registering and Object ID form: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/property-identification--marking-tagging-and-tracking/596/antiques-and-works-of-art/
Property identification – marking, tagging and tracking: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/security-inside-the-home/484/property-identification--marking-tagging-and-tracking/ (click on various headings in right hand margin for detail)
West Mercia Police press release: http://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/news-articles/burglars-target-jewellery-in-latest-offences.html
