Burglary crackdown hailed huge success

A POLICE operation to crackdown on burglaries in Greater Manchester has been hailed a huge success.

Operation Storm, which took place last Thursday, saw officers make five arrests in Oldham bringing the total to 56 since the start of June.

Police visited six known offenders, executed five search warrants and carried out 22 stop and searches.

Patrolling officers also identified 25 properties with open or unlocked doors and windows.

Across the division 180 offenders were arrested bringing the total to 1,150 since the beginning of June.

More than 160 warrants were served on known burglary offenders breaching bail or curfew conditions or failing to pay fines, and police visited the homes of 182 known and prolific offenders to check on their activities.

More than 900 open or unlocked doors and windows were identified and around 1,300 homes were visited to give advice on how people can prevent themselves from becoming a victim of burglary.

And more than 9,000 crime-reduction leaflets were delivered to houses across the county.

The day was organised to tackle a predicted increase in burglaries over the summer. It also aimed to raise awareness of how people can avoid becoming a victim as one in three burglaries happen because of open or unlocked windows and doors.