Police in Royston launch new crack-down on burglary

Police in Royston have launched a new campaign to crack down on domestic burglaries.

The campaign comes after a rise in the number of incidents, including spate of burglaries last month, which saw three homes raided in the space of a day, with a number of electrical items stolen.

Royston’s new Neighbourhood Sergeant, Steve Oliphant, has made tackling burglaries one of his policing priorities for the town following a meeting with the neighbourhood crime prevention panel.

He said: “We’ve seen a small increase in the number of domestic burglaries reported in the town over the last year. The numbers are still relatively low but it’s not acceptable and we want to do something about it.

“We’re running a campaign which will see the Police Community Support Officers going round houses in the town and carrying out crime prevention visits and home safety checks. I’ve set them the challenge of getting round every home in Royston over the course of the year.

“We’ll also be working with our partner agencies and other police forces in the area. We have to accept that these days criminals do travel around a lot, so offenders may be from this area but they may also be visiting us from other parts of the country.”

The raids last month saw homes in Hunters Way, Poplar Drive and Kipling Road targeted.

Sergeant Oliphant, who replaced Jon Vine as Royston’s top policeman at the end of last month, said the other priorities for his team are criminal damage and the anti-social use of motor vehicles.

He believes the closure of the reception desk at Royston Police Station has not hampered his team’s efforts to enforce law in the town.

“I know the decision to close the front desk was not one that was taken lightly,” he said.

“We still have a 24/7 presence in the town, and there are a lot of different ways people can contact us, either by calling 101 or via our social media pages, and we are working on ways to engage with as many people as we can.”