Lockdown scares off burglars as West Yorkshire sees big drop in break-ins - but area still third-worst burglary hotspot

West Yorkshire Police, which covers a population of about 2.2 million people received 14,923 reports of home burglaries between January and November 2020 - equal to roughly 44 burglaries per day according to data from www.police.uk compiled by company www.onlinemortgageadvisor.co.ukThat is down 31 per cent, with the region reporting 21,502 cases in 2019, or 64 incidences per day.

The first national lockdown between April and June of last year saw a 40 per cent decrease of domestic burglaries in West Yorkshire with 3,447 cases reported, down from ,5547 cases recorded in 2019.

The number of burglaries was also slashed during the second lockdown beginning in November with a reduction of 28 per cent compared to the previous year.

Government data shows that victims of burglary on average incur a loss of £4,040 in theft and damages to property. A 2016 report found that one in four victims found it hard to sleep after they were burgled and 13 per cent moved houses. For others, the feeling of violation and vulnerability were the worst parts of the crime committed against them.

Across England and Wales there were 252,828 incidents of burglary between January and November 2020, an equivalent of 755 burglaries a day.

London’s Metropolitan Police Service took first position with the highest number f burglaries in Britain dealing with 164 cases per day or 56,279 cases annually. West Midlands Police took the second spot with 18,115 burglaries or 54 cases per day.

West Yorkshire Police advise that burglaries can increase during the longer autumn and winter months but says that there are cheap and easy ways to significantly reduce being victimised.

The advice from the force is to lock doors, keep keys safe and away from windows or doors, stash valuable goods and cash out of view, and switch on burglar alarms.

Other ways of reducing likelihood of being burgled is to install lights around the perimeter of your home, hooking up cameras to watch over your house and garden, and keeping tools such as ladders and outside equipment locked up so offenders cannot use during the crime.