Video: School children are stars of new burglary prevention campaign

West Yorkshire Police yesterday launched a new ‘Forgotten Something?’ campaign in a bid to reduce the usual autumn spike in break-ins. And to prove how easy the messages are to understand, a team of primary school children were recruited to lend a hand.

Force crime prevention officer Chris Joyce said: “The onset of darker nights is traditionally a time when burglaries rise, but there are simple things you can do to help protect your home.

“It can take just 60 seconds for burglars to get into your home and steal your belongings but you can help prevent this by making it more difficult for them by removing opportunities they may look for.

“Crime prevention doesn’t need to cost huge sums of money – simply locking your doors, shutting your windows and not leaving valuables on display can make a great difference.”

The children are the stars of a series of short videos inspired by a popular party game. Instead of guessing the name of a famous figure, the children put a sticky note bearing one of the crime prevention messages to their forehead and explain what grown-ups should be doing.

The eight messages include lock the doors, shut your windows, hide your laptop and move your garden tools.

Mark Burns-Williamson, the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I don’t want a single person to come home and find that they’ve been burgled. It’s an absolutely horrible experience and one that we are doing everything we can to help prevent.

“This is an eye catching campaign and there is a serious message behind it. There are some simple measures you can take to drastically reduce your chances of being targeted.”