Police responding to town crime concern

It comes after a recent discussion on the issue generated over 150 comments on Facebook, with many sharing anecdotal reports that crime was on the up locally.

Montell Savanhu‎ of Sleaford felt the matter had to be addressed by authorities, saying: “Over a year ago if you had seen somebody post about getting their house burgled it would of been a rarity.”

Mr Savanhu said: “I woke up to a message this morning from my cousin saying that her boyfriend’s brother’s house was burgled last night when he was sleeping, they took his Playstation and bank cards then went and used the bank cards in the Spar.

“These people are fearless.”

He also recalled instances of people being assaulted or robbed in the street. Some felt victims were no longer bothering to report crimes.

Inspector for North Kesteven Ian Richardson admitted violence is a growing concern which has more than doubled in the last year to more than 800 incidents, although these included many cyber crimes due to changes in recording statistics. Shoplifting had not increased, but criminal damage was up seven per cent.

Insp Richardson said North Kesteven was still one of the safest places to live, and there had been an 11 per cent drop in vehicle crime in the last year. He said: “We have seen a recent spike in thefts from vans, this isn’t just limited to Sleaford but across the county. There is a CID led operation working on this.”

They were also working hard to identify suspects related to a recent increase in burglaries in town.

He urged that people review their home security, saying: “The offending appears opportunistic in nature. We have had several persons in custody recently in relation to such offences.”

Reporting crimes helps build a picture for officers to work with other authorities.

“We have had some really good results lately in the Grantham Road area, utilising a range of anti-social behaviour powers to deal with some individuals who have now left the area,” said the Inspector.