Council’s better locks scheme helps reduce city’s burglaries

As part of a drive to reduce burglary numbers, the city council is upgrading tenants’ locks in break-in hot spot areas across the city.

In previous years, burglars have plagued student areas such as Headingley as well as deprived areas like Beeston, Harehills and Armley.

The city council has been working to make it harder for burglars to break in.

The council set up a city-wide partnership with local “third sector organisation” Community Action and Support Against Crime (CASAC), to ensure that all council homes are fitted with the latest standard of door lock.

So far, more than 5,000 locks have been installed in buildings around the city, and by the end of the year 5,000 more locks will have been upgraded.

The city council has also been working with private sector landlords so that their properties can – with help from the lock suppliers – be secured at cost price.

Leeds is estimated to have about 50,000 properties in the private rented sector, representing between 15 and 17 per cent of the city’s housing stock.

The scheme ensures that the old-style euro cylinder lock barrels that are in UPVC doors are replaced with cylinders that are more secure.

These new locks are much stronger and less vulnerable to being snapped apart or drilled open like the types most commonly fitted in the past

Coun Peter Gruen, Leeds Council executive board member with responsibility for neighbourhoods and housing, said: “Safety in our tenants homes is very important, and so is reducing the burglary rate across Leeds.

“Being burgled is an unpleasant experience, and we are putting in place simple but effective measures to deter criminals from getting in.

“We know that there are some areas of the city that are hot spots for burglary so we are looking to work with private landlords to secure their properties and ensure we are looking at the issue on a city wide basis rather than just council homes.”

Neil Goldup, of CASAC said: “Working with the council is a big step towards tackling the euro cylinder lock snapping issue in Leeds, which now accounts for a quarter of all burglaries.

“After installing security devices by CASAC the chances of being burgled again are greatly reduced. It’s this fact which deters burglars from trying to break into a property once they have seen we have made it more secure.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said that an “ongoing crackdown” across Leeds has seen has seen the number of burglaries reduced to 7,662 offences over the last year, 1,207 fewer than the previous 12 months and the least the city has seen for more than 10 years.

He added: “Among the tactics currently being used is an initiative where intelligence analysts study crime patterns to predict where burglaries will occur so officers can target those areas with patrols while tightening up security at homes near to those that have recently been burgled.

“The scheme, dubbed Project Optimal, has only recently been launched but it has already seen some early success, the spokesman explained.

“One example is a 65 per cent reduction in burglary in the Headingley area, which saw 20 less burglaries over the first five weeks of the project compared to the same period last year.”

Other ground-breaking work to tackle burglary includes the use of hi-tech handheld scanners let officers check items that have been recovered – such as mobile phones and laptops – to identify immediately if such devices have been stolen.#

The scanners were put into action for the first time last week as officers across the city carried out another an operation to target burglary.