Burglaries in Goldthorpe fall - and police and council vow crackdown will continue

There were 42 offences in December but this went down to 15 in May, newly-released figures have shown.

South Yorkshire Police and Barnsley Council pledged to continue the efforts to reduce the number even further.

Chief Insp John Mallows said: “While there is still much work to do, the planned regeneration of the area will provide opportunities to further enhance community safety.”

Goldthorpe was identified as a burglary hotspot last summer. All affected properties were given visits by PSPOs and there were targeted patrols involving both uniformed and plain-clothed officers.

Previous offenders were visited, and extra work on streets seeing two or more burglaries in three months included crime-prevention letters for residents and door-to-door checks.

It was noted that boilers and copper piping were often targeted in empty properties.

A police spokesperson said: “The neighbourhood policing team (NPT) liaised with Barnsley Council to ensure empty properties were being monitored, and with landlords to make sure properties were correctly secured against burglary.

“We checked local scrap merchants for items, and monitored known pathways for distributing stolen goods to reduce the ‘reward’ for perpetrators.”

In May alone there were 12 visits to known offenders and 60 other door-to-door calls. Officers spent 176 hours on proactive burglary patrols and arrested seven prolific offenders.

Sgt Paul Aston, of Barnsley South East NPT, said: “Burglary and theft are very personal and invasive crimes.

“We will always seek to prosecute wherever we can and it is important to us to make sure victims are made to feel like they matter and are not just another crime number or just another statistic.

“We are targeting known offenders using a variety of methods to prevent reoffending, prevent offences from being committed and reducing the avenues through which stolen property can be disposed.

“Working alongside partners such as Barnsley Council, we are closing the net around those who intentionally impact the lives of the communities we serve.”

Coun Wendy Cain, cabinet spokesperson for public health and communities, said: “We continue to join forces with our partners at South Yorkshire Police to make sure Goldthorpe and our boroughs remain safe places.

“Our Neighbourhood Wardens have increased patrols and our dedicated Housing and Cohesion Officer for the Dearne liaises regularly with landlords in this area.

“Police and Communities Together (PACT) meetings are also held regularly with partners from the Safer Neighbourhood Service and South Yorkshire Police to look at how we can work together to improve community safety.”

You can pass information about crime to police via the online live chat, online portal or by calling 101.

Access our online portal at www.southyorks.police.uk/contact-us/report-something/

The force spokesperson said: “Our officers are also here to discuss any issues such as crime prevention with the communities we serve.

“To find out who your local NPT are and so who to contact, visit our website and use the ‘What’s happening in your areas?’ search tool on the homepage.”

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