The YMT DIV which considers burglary a major threat has earlier formed special anti-burglary teams to pay particular attention to ground floor commercial premises as well as buildings with scaffoldings.

YMT Divisional Commander, Mr Steve Chalkley, told OffBeat that the division had focused its attention on reducing incidences of burglaries in commercial premises occurring late at night, adding that shops with roller shutters were especially vulnerable.

He explained that in a very recent case, one of the divisions patrol teams was given the task of tackling late night burglaries of ground floor commercial premises.

After several nights of patrol and observation, officers spotted three persons behaving furtively near one of the Division's many rear lanes. An ambush was laid and officers subsequently caught two men and a woman, and found in their possession a tool for breaking in.

Mr Chalkley said the detection of this crime reflected very well on the "commitment, diligence, fortitude and determination of this group of Police officers".

"They are too well aware of the effect, both personal and economic, that burglaries can and do have on the victims of the crime," he said. "They dedicated themselves to tackling this problem and achieved a very successful result.

"The community needs to know that for every one adverse story concerning Police that gets maximum publicity, there are scores of stories left untold which reflect the hardwork and commitment that all officers strive to uphold," he added.

Last month there were a total of 20 burglary reports, compared with 24 for June 2001 and 32 for the same month in 2000. Mr Chalkley added: "Of greater concern is the potential for burglaries to turn into crimes of violence including robbery and various offences against the person."

Frontline officers conduct anti-burglary patrols at night