Minister holds 'burglary summit'
 

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith held a "burglary summit" for England and Wales amid fears more homes will be broken into because of the recession.

She met with police, insurance firms, DIY stores and charities for elderly people, as well as launching a crime prevention campaign.

Home burglaries in England and Wales started to rise at the end of 2008.

Figures show burglaries increased by 4% between July and September, compared with the similar period in 2007.

Burglaries of commercial premises were also up.

There were 69,000 break-ins at homes in England and Wales during the three-month period - the first rise in seven years.

The summit, which will also involved Neighbourhood Watch representatives, aims to work out ways of limiting opportunities for burglars and coincides with the launch of a crime prevention campaign.

It will be backed by a special fund, £20 million, to help people on low incomes improve their security. 

The summit comes as police are warning householders to beware of what they believe is the growing problem of "car key burglary", in which a person's car keys are stolen from their home.
Because of improved car security, many vehicles cannot now be stolen without the keys and the Association of Chief Police Officers says this kind of targeted theft now accounts for 8% of all break-ins.

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