A SHARP drop in house burglaries may be due to a fall in demand for second-hand goods rather than better policing or crime prevention, chief constables admit today.

Cheap, rapidly changing technology means that burglars can no longer guarantee sales of used televisions, video players, stereos, cameras and computers which are among the most commonly stolen items.

Police suspect that criminals have switched their efforts to the theft of new items through shoplifting and stealing lorryloads of consumer durables because they are much easier to get rid of.

This major change in crime patterns is reflected in a national strategic assessment of policing issues published today as the Home Office prepares new targets for the next three years.

Burglary is one of the seven top priorities identified by the 52 police forces, although the assessment notes that in 2003-04 recorded cases fell by 8 per cent in England and Wales to 402,000, by 10 per cent in Scotland and 1.7 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Many forces link the drop in burglary to local efforts and campaigns to get householders to take more precautions, but the assessment says: “Several police forces suggest that second-hand goods are becoming less saleable, as people prefer to buy new goods — hence the overall reduction in house burglary. This trend may correlate with incidents of shoplifting and theft of lorry loads to obtain new and unused goods which can be more readily disposed of.” The assessment also notes that thieves are increasingly using auction websites such as eBay to get rid of loot.

While the number of recorded domestic burglaries (including attempts) has fallen by more than 40 per cent since 1993, they still represent a major crime problem, according to the Home Office.

Domestic burglary offences make up about 8 per cent of all recorded property crime and, in comparison with other countries, England and Wales has one of the highest burglary rates. Experts say that when burglaries that are not reported to, or recorded by, police are taken into account, the figure is more than double.

According to a survey last month, 60 per cent of burglars rate the chances of police catching them at below 1 per cent. The report, which questioned 30 convicted burglars for the home security firm Micromark, found that 70 per cent felt that householders were making their task easier by failing to secure their homes properly.

A quarter said that breaking into homes was easy and nearly half admitted targeting property they had burgled before, knowing that stolen goods will have been replaced.

Nearly three quarters said householders made homes vulnerable by not installing security measures. Sixty per cent said that they chose homes that appeared to be empty.

PRICE COMPARISON

DVD Player:
2001: £150-£200
2004: £40-£80
DVD Recorder:
2001: £1200
2004: £150
28-inch Stereo Television:
2001: £800-£900
2004: £400
Video Recorder:
2001: £150
2004: £50-£60
Personal Computer:
2001: £1000
2004: £500
Laptop:
2001: £2000
2004: £600-£800
Playstation:
2001: £330
2004: £105
*Prices are estimated/average

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