17
Oct
2013
By Calvin at 14:10 GMT, 12 years ago
Police are appealing for anyone who has been offered items of men’s jewellery for sale to come forward following a burglary in Bromsgrove in which watches of sentimental value were stolen.
It happened in Cherry Orchard Drive overnight between Friday 4th October and Saturday 5th October.
At least two offenders forced entry to the house by breaking in to an external door and then entering the house via an internal garage door, causing £1,500 damage. An untidy search took place and a number of items of jewellery were stolen.
Detective Constable Martin Grant of West Mercia Police said: “This burglary took place over a weekend when the householders were away on a short break.
“A number of items of jewellery were stolen including a white gold three strand necklace, a white gold herringbone flat link necklace, a white gold ladies ring with rows of black and white diamonds, and a white Playboy watch, along with a black Casio Exilim digital camera without the case.
“Also stolen were items of men’s jewellery including a gold onyx signet ring with a black stone, a Tag-Heur wristwatch with a white face and black leather strap, an oversize Guess watch and an oversize green Echo watch, which had been handed down to the victim after the death of his father and therefore to him were priceless.
“I would like help from the public of Bromsgrove to recover this jewellery and to bring these offenders to face justice.
"If anyone has been offered these items for sale or knows who is responsible for the burglary, then please contact me in Kidderminster CID on 0300 333 3000 quoting incident 264-s-051013 or ring the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
TCPW Comment: Although I couldn’t possibly advise the poor victim about what to do about their security, because I am not at the scene, this burglary does raise several important crime prevention issues for the rest of us.
A glance on Google’s Streetview shows a cul-de-sac of semi-detached homes, many with side extensions (some of which are garages with what appear to be pedestrian doors). There are also many homes with the garages set to the back of a shared driveway, which provides access to the rear of the dwellings. Another problem along this narrow road is the car parking, where some of the cars are parked very close to the fronts of the houses and therefore could shield nefarious activity at the doors. Not many alarm boxes are on show either, which may well indicate a low level of burglary, but likewise also shows the burglar that a forced entry may not attract attention from the neighbours.
There are no easy answers, but there are still some things that could be done
Garage pedestrian doors should be locked in just the same secure way as a back door to the house and if it is to be replaced the replacement should ideally meet the enhanced security standard of PAS 24 2012.
Internal, interconnecting doors from the garage into the house should be fire resistant and well secured from the house side and again, if it is to be replaced, go for PAS 24 2012. These enhanced secure doorsets come complete with the frame, door and locks and would have been tested to resist a variety of MOs used by the typical burglar. At the very least, these doors will buy you time, but a burglar alarm extended into the garage could make all the difference.
Open side access could be gated, although agreement will be required between neighbours
There’s loads of advice on this website – please take a look, because you know it makes sense!
Useful references:
Alarms: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/gardens-lighting-access-and-alarms/501/burglar-alarms-advice/
Interconnecting doors http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/improving-the-security-of-your-existing-doors/556/integral-timber-fire-door-between-the-house-and-the-garage/
Single leaf doors: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/improving-the-security-of-your-existing-doors/554/single-leaf-back-and-side-doors-not-used-as-a-main-entrance/
Enhance secure doorsets: http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/pas-242012-enhanced-security-doorsets/572/a-typical-pas-24-certificated-doorset/
Source of report West Mercia Police: http://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/news-articles/jewellery-of-sentimental-value-stolen-in-bromsgrove-burglary.html
