[Mark Davies]

Andrew,

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. It is a sad fact that once you have been burgled once the chances of being done a second time are about double what they were originally. As people have said, it's the same offenders coming back to do you again.

First, they know what you had and expect your insurance to replace it. Many offenders will concentrate on one area for a few weeks then move on. They rotate so that they revisit an area every six months or so. Those that are really clued up keep diaries, noting your address and what they got from you. That way, if they want to steal something to order for someone, say a PDA, then they can look in their diary and see where they got one before.

But secondly, and most important, they know that they got into your house, how they did it and that they got away with it.

Five years ago we recognised this problem on our division and started a program of target hardening. With funding from the EU (yes, we do get something back!) we were able to offer free security upgrades to every victim of burglary; new locks, window locks, spy-holes, chains, bolts, even alarms. Not everyone took us up on it. But here's the good news - after 5 years not one person on the scheme has been burgled again. You don't have to be a victim - with a little investment it's easy to put off the would-be burglar.

Andrew, by the sound of it there's some hope that the scrote targetting you has been nabbed. However, hopefully your force has provided you with some literature on how to toughen up your home. If not, PM me with your address and I'll send you ours. We're not talking about bars on windows and gun turrets - sometimes the simplest and cheapest of measures make a world of difference.

And one last word of encouragement. Nationally burglary figures are coming down. It is a high priority in all forces, but national initiatives such as Operation Magpie are beginning to take effect. You can be sure that your force is not going to neglect this issue. Yes, there is a bit of fall-out - the increase in street muggings can be related directly to the work we're doing on burglary. Being thwarted in one avenue forces the habitual criminal to do something else, but we're working on that as well.

But put simply, you can decide not to be a victim and take simple measures to prevent it. There have been two attempts at breaking into my house but both have failed. My house isn't Fort Knox - I don't even have an alarm - but a few simple choices make the difference.