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Police in Bolton are asking residents not to gift wrap their Christmas presents for criminals by keeping their homes more secure.

Inspector Barry Short who is leading Bolton’s crackdown on burglary said: “January is a peak time for burglaries to take place as thieves try to get their hands on your new Christmas presents. Although we will be continuing our efforts to target offenders through all hours of the day and night, we are simply asking people to tighten up their home security by making sure they lock their doors and windows behind them, which will help to further reduce burglaries across the borough.”

The police and Council have been working hard to tackle burglary over the past year and following the start of an intensive crackdown in May, burglaries have been cut across Bolton by more than 20 per cent, meaning more than 300 fewer victims. During a recent week of action in December, 89 arrests were made and a number of warrants carried out, during which a cannabis farm was found and drugs and stolen property were recovered.

Inspector Short continued: “This level of activity will continue in 2010, but we need your help to drive down burglary even further as more than one in three of all burglaries committed in Bolton are simply down to people not locking their doors or windows, either when they go out or on many occasions when they are actually still in the house.

“I would like to thank members of the public for their help last year, as a lot of our work has been assisted by information passed on to us by the community. In the past few months in particular, we have seen a number of our prolific burglars sentenced for their crimes. So thank you for your calls and I hope you will continue to support us in the future.”

Following some recent break-ins, police are particularly advising homeowners to make sure that if they have a burglar alarm, that they put it on at night when they go to bed. Also, residents are being asked to ensure they secure away safely any items that potential thieves could use to try and break into homes, i.e. shovels lying around in the garden that have been used to clear away snow.

Residents can also help to tackle issues in their community by joining up to their local Home Watch scheme. Being a part of Home Watch can reduce home insurance costs and police rely on help from members to get out crime prevention messages and also for information on suspicious and criminal activity.

To find out more about setting up a Home Watch Scheme in your area, please contact Bolton’s Watch Scheme Officer, Mary Harrison on 0161 856 5762.


There are a number of simple but effective ways to deter burglars:

- Keep ground floor windows locked or fit restrictors so they can only be slightly opened
- Keep all external doors locked, even when you are in
- Keep your Christmas presents out of view of the window
- Use light timer switches or simply leave a light on when you are out to give the impression someone is at home
- Always set your burglar alarm when you go to bed
- Mark all valuables with a UV pen, to include your postcode and house number or first two letters of your house name.