Operation Crooked turns six months old and burglaries are at an 11 year low

“Northamptonshire is a hostile place for burglars” – this is the message from a top detective in the Northamptonshire Police Burglary Team as Operation Crooked turns six months old and burglaries in the county continue to reduce.

Operation Crooked is Northamptonshire Police’s campaign to reduce burglary - a top priority for the Force. As part of the operation, the Burglary Team, which sits within CID, ensures that every burglary victim in Northamptonshire is guaranteed a visit from the police.

The team also work to review and drive up the quality of investigations, manage and progress forensic hits, hunt down wanted people, organise police patrols in areas of concern and gather intelligence to prevent burglaries before they happen. 

Since the team was launched in April 2019, the number of home invasions has halved with burglaries at their lowest volume since June 2008, and 157 people have been arrested for burglary offences.

Detective Inspector Wayne Preece, said: “As a team, we are really pleased with the impact we have made in reducing burglaries across the county and we hope to make even more of a difference when our one year anniversary comes around.

“However, whilst having the lowest volume of burglaries in 11 years is definitely something to be proud of, we also acknowledge that there is still a lot to do and we will not become complacent.

“Northamptonshire is a hostile place for burglars and we want burglars to know this. We have arrested, charged and convicted a number of burglars since the team was launched and we have no intention of letting up.”