On Thursday 21 November fifty officers covering Elmbridge, Runnymede, and Spelthorne carried out an operation to target burglary in the three boroughs.

Following recent reports of high value jewellery theft in the north of the county and the anticipated rise in burglary as the nights draw in officers carried out uniformed and covert activities in a targeted day of action to disrupt criminality and identify potential burglars.

A 32 year-old man and a 19 year-old woman were both arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary following a vehicle stop check in Roehampton after officers had followed the vehicle that they were travelling in. The man was additionally arrested on suspicion of driving offences and theft of a motor vehicle. They have both been bailed until December 17 pending further enquiries.

A 21 year-old man was arrested following a vehicle stop check in Cobham on suspicion of offences including going equipped for theft, possession of an offensive weapon, conspiracy to commit burglary, theft, drugs offences, and a driving offence. He has been released without charge, but remains under investigation.

Throughout the day forty vehicles were stopped, two were seized for having no insurance. Thirty seven people were stopped in the street by officers and three community resolutions for offences including possession of controlled substances were issued.

Inspector Paul Mcdowell who was in charge of the operation said: “I’m pleased that this day of action was so positive. We undertake operations like this to disrupt criminals and to target offenders. However inevitably it is a great opportunity to gather intelligence and detect other offences aside from burglary. We will continue to carry out uniformed and covert operations such as this over the coming months to ensure that burglars know that we will catch up with them and prosecute where we are able to.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to remind people of our crime prevention advice, especially in the run up to Christmas. Please leave a light on when you’re not at home to deter opportunistic burglars and make sure you’ve locked up properly. Don’t leave gifts on show, either through your windows at home to passers-by or in your vehicle. Also consider where you are disposing of packaging so that you don’t leave it outside your address and advertise to burglars as to what items you have bought or received.

“Part of the reason that we are able to carry out proactive days of action such as this is because of the reports of suspicious activity we receive from the public. I’d urge anyone who sees someone, or a vehicle, acting suspiciously on their street to call 101 or report this via our website, so that we can build a comprehensive picture of what is happening in our local communities”.