MORE than 1,700 homes across Barnsley were burgled in the last year, according to latest police figures.
The statistics, which paint the full extent of the town’s burglary spree from August 2017 to September 2018, reveal 1,766 incidents took place - a rise of almost 300 on the previous year’s total.
Figures peaked at 173 in August 2017 and although that triggered a downward spiral for the following months, hitting a low of 97 in February 2018, they shot back up to 157 by March.
However, since that point, incidents have gradually decreased and latest figures for September show 78 incidents were recorded - the lowest in more than a year.
Police cite the successful prosecutions of prolific offenders as one of the main reasons why there’s been a downward trend, as well as more officers being deployed to tackle the crime at hotspots including Barnsley town centre.
Jordan Ratcliffe, 19, was one of the key burglars who was locked up this year when he received a nine-and-a-half year prison term at Sheffield Crown Court in July having been found guilty of three aggravated burglaries and several other offences.
As a 14-year-old, Ratcliffe was unusually named by then District Judge John Foster due to his consistent offending in the town so reporting restrictions - which usually protect a youth’s identity - were lifted.
Ratcliffe, of Bridge Street, Barnsley, failed to respond to a two-year antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) which was placed on him by Mr Foster at the time and continued to commit offences but of a much more serious nature, including aggravated burglary, according to police.
A report, compiled by Chief Superintendent Scott Green, district commander for Barnsley, said: “Performance regarding serious acquisitive crime rates has seen continued and sustained reduction across Barnsley.
“The results that are now being seen are directly linked to the collective activities of neighbourhood policing, productivity around offenders via offender management and strong investigative delivery following the return of CID assets to local command.”
Burglaries targeting businesses in the town stood at 67 in August 2017, dipping to 19 in December, while there’s been an average of 35 in recent months.
Improving victims’ confidence has also been implemented by officers across the town - which now has six policing hubs in place who are each responsible for a district including Kendray, Goldthorpe, Cudworth, Royston, Penistone and the town centre.
“The neighbourhood teams are embedded in their local communities and feedback has been positively received on their presence and impact,” Chf Supt Green added.
“We retain the ambition to expand and improve the neighbourhood offer, for example the creation of a further neighbourhood policing team at Cudworth and the reopening of its police station as a base for officers.
“We have developed a detailed and comprehensive action plan to improve victims’ satisfaction. Additionally, this has been enhanced by a more focused 12-week delivery plan and the year-to-date position for Barnsley shows overall satisfaction at 83 per cent.”
