MORE than 30 people were arrested in a police operation to drive down burglaries across Bradford. 

Operation Shrilldale, which ran throughout January, was designed to target residential burglaries across the district as part of West Yorkshire Police’s ‘Darker Nights’ campaign.

The scheme also targeted raids of garages, sheds and outbuildings, which under new crime recording processes are now classed as residential burglaries.

The operation saw officers use a range of policing methods, both overt and covert, to target those suspected of being involved in these offences.

Thirty three arrestes were made, resulting in 14 charges to date and officers are continuing enquiries.

Chief Inspector Michael Rutter, who led the operation, said: “This time of year traditionally sees a rise in residential burglaries, so we wanted to create an operation to target this type of crime.

“Some of those individuals we have targeted are likely to be involved in other areas of crime, and some may even have links to organised crime groups, so it is important that we use our resources to take action against these people.

“Operations like Shrilldale not only allow us to focus on those individuals who are causing us the most harm, they also give us an opportunity to look at burglary from a district perspective and target the areas which are most affected.

“We hope this activity will reassure the people of Bradford District that we do take burglary seriously and we will continue to run operations of this nature to make our communities safer.”

Councillor Abdul Jabar, Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety at Bradford District Council, added: "We welcome the police’s efforts to crack down on burglaries.

"It’s unacceptable that people have to experience this in society. We echo any advice given by them for us all to try and minimise the risks by ensuring our homes are secure, valuables are kept out of sight and doors are locked, even when people are at home.”