15
Aug
2013
By Calvin at 13:35 GMT, 12 years ago
David Cox, A prolific burglar has been jailed for three years for breaking into homes in Malvern.
Cox, aged 28, of Arboretum Road, Worcester, was jailed for burglaries at The Avenue on 2nd May and Coxwell Drive on 21st May, and for an attempted burglary at Spindle Road on 6th June.
In the burglary in The Avenue he got in to the flat through an insecure ground floor window but left empty handed after being disturbed by the victim, who knew Cox, returning home.
In the Coxwell Drive burglary he got into the garage and garden of a house, but fled after challenged by neighbours.
In Spindle Road he was seen trying the garage door by a neighbour, who got a friend to take a photograph of him. The image was subsequently identified by police as being Cox.
The burglaries all happened during the daytime.
Detective Inspector Stuart Murphy of West Mercia Police said Cox was a prolific burglar who committed crime to fund his drug habit.
He said: “Thanks to the vigilance of neighbours, Cox did not get away with any property during this series of burglaries. This case illustrates the vital role neighbours can play in keeping an eye on each other’s properties, and alerting police if they see or hear anything suspicious.
“It also demonstrates the importance of keeping ground floor and other accessible windows secure, no matter how hot the weather, when going out.
“Burglary has a huge impact on victims and reducing and preventing these offences are priorities for West Mercia Police.”
TCPW Comment So, first of all it’s a huge ‘well done’ to Cox’s victims and neighbours for being alert and providing the evidence the police needed for a successful prosecution.
I know that while he’s in prison he won’t be breaking into people’s homes, but at what cost?
In England and Wales it costs on average £65,000 to imprison a person (this includes police and court costs) and then a further £40,000 per year for each year they spend in prison (based on Ministry of Justice figures for 2010/11).
So, based on what I know about sentencing, if Cox is well behaved he will automatically be released having served half his 3 year sentence. This means that (not including the costs to his victims) he’s going to cost us taxpayers 65K + 40K + 20K + Costs of Probation and possible ongoing treatment for drug addiction, which comes to more than £125,000!!!
So, people like Cox cost us money when they’re out and committing crimes and also cost us money when they’re in prison and not committing crimes. And there are thousands of them like Cox; and it’s been going on for hundreds of years.
You’d think our government would have come up with a better way by now, wouldn’t you?
This is why crime prevention is so flipping important. You’re not just saving yourself from becoming a victim, you’ll be doing your little bit towards saving the country money. And if you think about it in the slightly weird and cynical way that I do; by making it hard for Cox to do his burglaries you will actually be doing both of you a favour. You won’t get burgled by Cox and Cox won’t be convicted of so many burglaries next time around and may therefore spend less time in prison.
You know crime prevention makes more sense, which is more than I can say for our sentencing policy.
Incidentally, while Cox is languishing in prison, I think he should take a very hard look at his burgling career, because he ain’t very good at it!
Now where’s that cold flannel?.......
West Mercia Police story: http://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/news-articles/prolific-burglar-jailed-for-malvern-break-ins.html
