Thaxted

Update

Metal and cable thefts are occuring at all times of day particularly in rural areas, please let us know if you see any suspicious persons or vehicles. There have been a small number of burglaries again in more secluded areas. Please ensure your home, sheds, garages and other buildings are secure. Commercial premises can request a crime reduction visit to review their security to help deter burglars.

Garden equipment, tools and metal are being stolen. These items can be security marked and should be kept secure and away from windows.

It is recommended that incidents are reported at the time they occur so that officers are able to make a suitable response, particularly if you think an offence is taking place.

Please report suspicious people or vehicles and doorstep callers. Make a note of vehicle registration numbers or relevant descriptions. If you have vulnerable neighbours, please consider keeping an eye out for them.

Additionally please note this latest crime reduction advice regarding house burglary

Uttlesford has one of the lowest recorded rates of domestic burglary with only 1.3 burglaries per 1000 households in the last quarter.

That is amazingly low, and we are well placed when measured against the most similar group of districts nationally.
Rather than be satisfied with this, we are committed to continuing to reduce the number of dwelling burglaries even further. Burglary is a horrible crime from which we are keen to have as few victims as possible.

We recently discovered that many burglaries are being committed by entry through UPVC back doors. These doors have a number of different locking mechanisms; some can be locked by simply lifting the handle - in others, lifting the handle drives across a closing bolt, but a key is needed to actually lock the door.

It has become clear from speaking to recent victims, that when they'd thought they were locking their doors, they were in fact just closing them; with the result that the door could still be opened from the outside. This mechanism is also available on conservatories and can be used with wooden doors, so this message applies to everyone. Please make sure you know how your locks operate so that when you are locking up, you are in fact locking up. If you need any assistance with door locks or are unclear at all about this message then please speak to our crime reduction advisor, Peter Caulfield on 101 extn 395387, who will be happy to advise you.

Peter Caulfield added, "About 30% of all house burglaries are via unlocked or open doors and windows. All most burglars have to do is try a few handles until they find one which opens a door. Please take note and don’t become a statistic."