Burglary awareness

Dear resident, 

I hope you are well, I thought to share this story from yesterday.

A 95 year old female called us after an unknown male opened her front door. She challenged him as to what he was doing and he left, whilst apologising because he ‘got the wrong house’ and did not intend to enter. She lives alone and was left frightened by what had happened. 

So, yesterday I visited her to provide some reassurance and fitted some door alarms, funded by the PCC, and she assures me she feels much safer now.  Whilst on face value this seems suspicious, but incidents like this do happen, and we see it often. Distant friends invited round have entered the incorrect address, family members, carers - the list can go on. Sometimes mistakes happen, but sometimes these are targeted actions by criminals and not mistakes. Criminals sometimes do this as a ‘test’; firstly, to see if the property is occupied, and secondly, to see if the person who resides there is going to make it difficult for them to take what they want. 

It is difficult to say in this case whether it was a genuine mistake or whether the male was scouting out the property. Please take this incident as a reminder, especially as the darker hours descend, to:

This year so far, South Wigston statistics for burglaries has been lower than last year due to the work we have put in, and the means of prevention you have taken. Together, we have all made South Wigston properties safer. We look forward to sharing the 12 monthly statistics with you at the end of the year. 

If you want to discuss burglary prevention tips with us, let us know and we will be happy to have a chat with you. 

I hope you have a safe and fun couple of months on the lead up to Christmas - but please remember that now is the the season to be more vigilant. 

PC Reece Breslin 

South Wigston Beat Team