The Harrogate District Community Safety Partnership includes North Yorkshire Police and is responsible for reducing crime, disorder and anti social behaviour by working in partnership with a number of agencies.
Yesterday (12 May 2013) Sarah Glew and Mel Greaves from Harrogate Borough Council, part of the safety partnership, were out on the streets of Bilton, helping to tackle problems with metal thefts.
The area has seen many cases of number of metal thefts from gardens and building work skips. There is also a growing trend for the thieves to target smaller items.
Mel Greaves of the Community Safety Partnership said:
Harrogate has a very low crime rate, but there are always areas that can be improved.
Householders need to make sure that their gardens are secure and if you have scrap metal, to dispose of then dispose of it yourself before somebody just takes it.
We are looking for possible metal-theft targets and then talking to the householders before handing out advice leaflets to surrounding households.
Sarah and Mel used a highly visible council truck and spoke to a number of people about potential vulnerabilities.
Bilton sees many vehicles cruising the streets and there have been a number of incidences of items being stolen from properties. When fridges are placed in gardens for disposal and then stolen, they are often found fly-tipped with the pump removed – the only valuable component.
Many thefts go unreported though. For some, it can be an item that is conveniently cleared from their garden, however, for others it can mean the loss of children’s play equipment, garden furniture or gate.
Suspicious vehicles or thefts can be reported using the police’s non-emergency number of 101. It is important that reports are made to give the police the information do deal with problems appropriately.
