Police warn residents of Derbyshire town after spike in criminals targeting homes in burglaries and stealing cars

By Tom Hardwick
Published 27th Jul 2023, 16:07 BST
Updated 27th Jul 2023, 16:07 BST
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Officers have urged the residents of a Derbyshire town to keep their properties and vehicles secure after a recent rise in burglaries.

Over the last few weeks, the Bolsover and Clowne Safer Neighbourhood Team have reported an increase in dwelling burglaries and thefts of motor vehicles.

An SNT spokesperson said: “The two are normally linked and are called a ‘two in one burglary’. A property is normally broken into and a search conducted to try and locate the car keys. Once located the car is then stolen.

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“The other type of theft we have seen an increase in is a theft of motor vehicle using relay devices. Offenders use a signal scanning device to pick up the wireless signal emitted from the car keys located within the residential property. This is then relayed to the vehicle outside, which allows the offenders to gain entry to the vehicle and then drive it away.

A number of burglaries and vehicle thefts have been reported in recent weeks.A number of burglaries and vehicle thefts have been reported in recent weeks.
A number of burglaries and vehicle thefts have been reported in recent weeks.

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“The best way to reduce the chance of being a victim to relay style car thefts is to ensure your car keys (including the spare key) are placed inside a faraday bag or pouch. This blocks the signal the keys give off and means a signal scanning device will not pick up the signal.

“Many thieves are opportunists, don’t make life easy for them. The more obstacles in their way the less likely they are to strike.”