Police make 47 arrests in burglary operation

Launched earlier this year, Op Castle is a dedicated, detective-led response dealing with all incidents of burglary in people’s homes across the city.

Detectives target known burglars, using up-to-date local intelligence to identify trends.

The team's detailed knowledge of the forensic and evidential requirements to secure charges is helping to ensure successful convictions at court.

As well as a ten per cent reduction in burglary, and an increase in detection rates, the team has arrested 47 people on suspicion of burglary, with 20 remanded into custody.

They have secured 79 charges against 21 people and are securing successful convictions as cases come to court.

Det Sgt James Wiggins, who leads the response, said: “We understand the significant impact that burglary has on victims, and, through Op Castle, we are working tirelessly to both reduce the number of burglaries in Doncaster and apprehend those responsible.

“Thanks to our specialist knowledge, we are able to identify links between burglaries so they can be treated as a series, and then linking that series to an offender. This means they can be dealt with for the full extent of their offending rather than isolated incidents.”

Det Sgt Wiggins continued: “As well as working to detect and arrest offenders, we also use the local intelligence we gather around the patterns of offenders to inform our patrol plans with a view to preventing burglaries from occurring in the first place.

“We employ a range of tactics, including both covert undercover and high visibility patrols in key hotspot areas to maximise our impact.

“We also value any information that the public has on burglaries in their area, no matter how small. This information from the public can further help us to direct our resources and prevent offences, and I would urge people to get in touch.

“Information can be passed to us via our online live chat on our website, our online portal, or by calling 101.”