Calls made to tackle sharp rise in burglaries in Calverley & Farsley

By John Baron

Members of the public are being urged to report crimes and any suspicious activity after a spate of burglaries in Calverley & Farsley.

Councillors on the Outer West Community Committee this afternoon voiced their concerns over a near doubling of burglaries across the Calverley and Farsley Ward since the start of the year.

The meeting heard there had been a the sharp rise in burglaries in areas including Carr Hills, Calverley, Kirklees, Spring Banks, New Parks Farsley, Town Street, Rodley and the Westdales and Galloway Lane, Pudsey.

Potential solutions included increasing police patrols and running burglary prevention workshops were suggested.

Leeds West neighbourhood inspector Lise Jones told councillors that the darker nights always led to an increase in the number of burglaries. There had also been increases in Pudsey and Farnley & Wortley wards.

Snapping of the locks was the most common cause of entry, along with using blowtorches.

An arrest has recently been made attached to burglaries which used a blow torch on locks, which is still active investigation. Miss Jones said locks being snapped and blow torches were the most common ways of gaining entry.

She said advice had been given out to victims over using the best possible locks, using sash jammers on windows, lighting and CCTV. More information on home security can be found here.

Councillor Craig Timmins (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) said burglaries had been designated a priority for police in the Calverley & Farsley ward but asked what that meant and what extra resources were being put in to tackle it. He also pushed for more patrols in hot spot areas.

He added: “I know you say that burglaries aren’t at pandemic levels, but they are up nearly 100% year on year. Is it worthwhile having some sort of burglary prevention workshop to have where could we a committee work with you?”

Miss Jones said neighbourhood policing teams finished at 11pm on weekdays, and 12pm on weekends. Aafter that regular officers prioritised 999 and life and death calls. Extra patrols would depend on additional funding and monitoring times when burglaries are happening and where.

“A Force priority is exactly that – it’s an issue which we prioritise,” she said. “We will always attend calls and try our hardest to pull other departments in where we can.”

Cllr Andrew Carter (Cons, Calverley & Farsley) had concerns over the number of people added: “The doubling of residential burglaries in the past 12 months has to be regarded as extremely worrying. It is happening all the time and all over the ward. Due to the time of year we are in will only see it increase.

“What’s being done to tackle this? There are some particularly frightening examples.”

Miss Jones reiterated that an arrest has been made regarding blowtorch break ins.

Cllr Trish Smith (Ind, Pudsey) asked that the committee to write to ask housing officers whether council house tenants had good quality locks fitted.

Cllr Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) suggested additional funding for the neighbourhood policing team for additional patrols. “If we could find extra funding for it, that would put residents’ minds at rest”.

Residents were urged to report burglaries, attempted burglaries and any other suspicious activity. If a crime is ongoing dial 999 immediately, but for non emergencies or if there is no immediate risk dial 101 or report on the live chat service, which is often much quicker.

The outer west community committee is made up of nine councillors from three wards: Calverley & Farsley, Farnley & Wortley and Pudsey. It has four Labour, three Conservative, one independent and one Green councillor.