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Scotland Yard is launching a major operation to tackle a surge in break-ins and car thefts in London, which has been fuelled by the recession.
Police are targeting prolific burglars and organised gangs who break into people's homes to steal car keys.
Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has ordered the crackdown under the banner of the original Operation Bumblebee initiative.
He admits the recession is, at least in part, to blame for a recent nine per cent surge in burglaries in the capital.
The number of break-ins in the six months to the end of September was 27,739, compared to 25,402 in the same period last year.
However, in some boroughs of London the increase is much greater. In Barking and Dagenham and Hillingdon, for instance, burglaries are up 40 per cent in the last six months. Break-ins in Kingston increased by 36 per cent and in Croydon by 35 per cent.
But there have also been falls in a handful of boroughs, notably Hammersmith and Fulham which recorded a drop of 30 per cent.
The new drive is based on an Operation Bumblebee initiative launched in the 1990s which saw year-on-year reductions in burglary in London.
The original operations were marked by mass raids and Bumblebee roadshows which saw thousands of pieces of stolen property returned to their owners.
The initiative was wound up several years ago after questions were raised over the effectiveness of mass raids.
The operation will focus on targeting known prolific burglars identified as being behind a string of recent raids.
Officers will also focus on the car gangs who are behind a surge in break-ins where criminals steal the keys of high-value cars in people's drives. Last month a woman who was seven months pregnant was raped by a burglary gang her home in Finsbury Park.
Police say that organised criminals see stealing car keys from a home as being easier than breaking into vehicles and bypassing security systems. It is also less confrontational than carjacking.
There will also be advertising campaigns encouraging householders to make their homes more secure.
A senior officer from outside the Met is being brought in with a specific brief to drive down burglary.
The campaign was launched last night with images beamed onto Scotland Yard warning that prolific offenders would be targeted.
Reader views (3)
Jon,
'shooting people with their chair legs' - what does that mean?
'paperwork' unfortunately police cant around that, speak to the government
'arresting people who contradict' - personal experience or what you read in the media.
'speeding fines' - suppose they should let everyone go what ever speed they want no matter what the limit - until they speed down your street!!
parking fines - speak to traffic wardens
arresting people who defend themselves against thugs - no argument
watching CCTV after crimes have been committed - how do you think some crimes are solved, you have to view CCTV otherwise whats the point of it
making speeches - senior officers do that not PC's
Grief counselling - that is needed, I pray none of your family are seriously hurt or worse in a car crashbecause the officers who do that role (and that is not their main job) provide and very important service
- Steven Jones, london
"There's never just one cockroach in the kitchen" and the same applies to thieves.
This problem is because the police haven't been treating each and every theft reported to them seriously. The result is that the vermin think, sorry, know, that they'll get away with it, and they encourage other vermin, and we end up with a big problem because nothing was done about a small one.
It would also help if the courts didn't just tell the vermin that they've been naughty boys, and let them off with a bit of "community service". They should get a short jail term, with a considerably longer suspended bit that they will serve *consecutively* with any new sentence, should they ever need to be re-sentenced for a similar crime.
It's as easy to trap thieves as cockroaches. Just equip an old car with a video camera and a dye bomb and a tempting-looking bag on the back seat. Arrest the thief at leisure - he's the yob with the purple-stained face and clothes. If you can't find him you at least have the satisfaction of knowing he's not going to be around in public for a couple of weeks until the dye washes off his skin.
But I guess that would infringe the poor cockroach's human rights.
- Nigel, London
1,000 breakins per week, what a great statistic. You do wonder what the plods are doing with their time apart from suing their employers for discrimination or stress, staying at home "sick" while doingother jobs, attacking easy to arrest drunks with CS spray, shooting people with chair legs, paperwork, arresting anyone who dares to contradict them, speeding fines, parking fines, arresting people who defend themselves against thugs, watching CCTV of crimes after the event, making speeches on TV about how they have sympathy for the victims of crime, giving "grief" counselling...shall I go on?
- Jon, london
