West Midlands Police officers working in Coventry have chalked up tremendous success with a massive reduction in burglaries in the past two years.

Figures for 1997/98 showed Little Park Street has seen a reduction of 12 per cent, Stoney Stanton Road a reduction of eight per cent and Chace Avenue a reduction of 17 per cent.

Now Chace Avenue has come out on top of the entire force with a massive reduction of 26 per cent for 1998/99. One of the biggest in the country, this also beats the national average of 13.8 per cent.

Superintendent Mark Sheasby from Chace Avenue said:

"This remarkable achievement is the result of a wide ranging approach to the burglary problem. We have encouraged crime prevention, community involvement and community safety.

"Officers have also targeted high crime areas and certain prolific criminals who have been turned from victimisers to victims. More than anything, this is a testament to the police officers of Coventry who have shown great determination and courage in tackling this problem.

"because of their work, 90 fewer people are burgled every month on the Chace Avenue OCU (operational command unit) alone."

Inspector John Mayne of Chace Avenue has said that one of the major reasons for the dramatic decline in the area has been the move to sector policing.

"Officers have now taken ownership of their sectors. They are analysing the problems and actively targeting these with pro-active campaigns," he said.

One of these campaigns was Operation Broom run by the Willenhall sector. Sergeant Kerry Blakeman said,

"This operation targeted a number of known persistent offenders. When they were arrested and charged they were given bail conditions which were rigorously enforced by officers from the Willenhall sector.

"It is clear to see that the use of curfews and excluding people from areas where they commit crime contributed greatly to the reduction in burglaries during this initiative."

Another major initiative was ‘contact policing’. The purpose of this was for local beat officers to visit homes in their sector area, introduce themselves and to offer crime prevention advice and to postcode property.

Householders were also asked to fill in a questionannaire which helped oficers evaluate their work and ascertained people’s willingness to join Neighbouhood Watch groups. The pilot scheme in Earlsdon was deemed a huge success and this intiative will be conitnued until every sector has been able to meet with the people in their community.

Detective Inspector Maggie Evans has also been evaluating and highlighting examples of good burglary strategies over the past twelve months.

She said:

"For example, last February we targeted a prolific burglar who was responsible for many of the crimes in the Stoke and Wyken areas of the city. He was arrested and bailed with a curfew imposed. Officers checked him at least three times a night to make sure that he was keeping to this curfew, when he wasn’t he was arrested.

"He then changed his pattern of offending and because we had been watching what was happening, officers were able to predict when he was actively involved in crime. He was arrested in the act and afterwards admitted more than 30 other offences. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. The operation was an excellent example of the whole of the OCU working together."

Superintendent Sheasby said:

"These are just a few of the many excellent operations that Chace Avenue officers have carried out which have improved community safety for the people of Coventry.

"We will continue to forge partnerships with the community to keep up the pressure on the criminal. The most effective way of doing this is through Neighbourhood Watch and I would encourage anyone interested to contact Peter Sturgeon, the Neighbourhood Watch support officer at Chace Avenue police station, on 01203 539112."