Cause for alarm

Once Hull was England's household burglary capital. The number of break-ins is still unacceptably high, but a number of initiatives across the city are starting to turn the tide. Hullinprint investigates how local communities, the police and the council are joining forces...

Glassguard alarms might be as small as a Post-it note but they are perfectly formed, as far as residents and businesses in East Hull are concerned. Alarms are just one weapon in an arsenal of security devices ranging from the sophisticated (video cameras) to the low tech (window locks) that are restoring hope to communities once blighted by burglary.

Making it safe: PROBE's Kevin Murphy fits another shed alarm.

Hundreds of security packages have already been provided free of charge to victims of crime and the vulnerable. And now many more are set to benefit thanks to the latest expansion of a £500,000 burglary prevention scheme. The programme is jointly funded by City Council area committees, Government crime reduction money and training and regeneration company PROBE Ltd, which also runs the scheme.

PROBE's four teams, made up entirely of trainees from the New Deal Environment Task Force, currently install around 170 security packages a week. After receiving a referral from Victim Support or an organisation such as Age Concern about residents who would like their property to be made more secure, PROBE will then get in touch to see which package would be most suitable.

The key to the scheme's success, says crime prevention officer, PC Robin Saltonstall, is its flexibility and responsiveness. "PROBE installs measures quickly that are relevant to people in a particular area rather than just providing a set package," he said.

"When old people's bungalows on Dorchester Road were being targeted, we noticed that the burglars kept getting in through a small square window at the back of the house." To counter this, a metal bar was specially designed to block this entry route and installed, not just in the homes that had been burgled but in all the other bungalows on the street.

In other areas, where bogus callers have been a problem, concerned residents have been equipped with panic alarms and 'identislots' which allow them to check a caller's credentials before opening the door. The scheme is only currently available in East Hull and one West Hull area, Wyke.

In the meantime, new initiatives are being considered to alleviate the hardship suffered by the victims of domestic burglary wherever they live. For example, the City Council is developing a budget insurance scheme aimed at people living in areas of high crime, where premiums can be notoriously high.

"We're showing that something can be done and that people don't have to be resigned to crime," said Sgt Michael Nicholson of the Community Safety Unit, a partnership between the police, the council and the community. "Preventing and reducing fear of crimes, such as burglaries, is our main goal."

For further information about PROBE, call 715391. For impartial home security advice, call your local Crime Prevention Officer on: 220160 (West Hull), 597503 (East Hull).

Not up our alley...

A century ago, the alleyways connecting Welbeck, Thoresby, Blenheim and Belvoir Streets were used for removing the 'night soil' from the out-houses at the back of the Victorian terraces.

Lock that door: Paul White secures a door for resident Louise Elliot.

Until recently, their modern role was as a burglars' paradise, providing access for around 90 per cent of break-ins in the 'Dukeries'. "The burglars used to disperse in different directions along the alleyways after carrying out large burglaries on the Avenues," said local neighbourhood watch coordinator, Ann Martin. Ann successfully lobbied for lockable metal gates to be installed to block off these 'crime alleys'.

Residents canvassed their neighbours to gain consent for the scheme and obtained £9,000 from the Government's Single Regeneration Budget and the Wyke Area committee for 47 gates, which were manufactured and installed by New Deal trainees.

Their effect has been dramatic. Humberside Association of Neighbourhood Watch Groups (HANWAG) estimates that they have halved burglaries in the area. Because of the gates, the alleyways are now also free of the sort of detritus that used to be dumped there - from drug users' syringes to abandoned mattresses. "They have improved their quality of life," Ann Martin added.