Minister hosts anti-burglary summit

Feb 4 2009

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is hosting a summit to address the growing problem of burglary.

Break-ins at homes were up 4% in the last set of crime figures, prompting fears of a "credit crunch crime wave".

Ms Smith will host police, retailers, insurers and charities for elderly people at the meeting in central London.

She will also launch a £1.6 million crime prevention campaign and a new web-based test for people to check their home security.

The three-minute test will rate your home on the basis of the information you provide and suggest new ways to make your home safer.

The Home Secretary has pledged to stay on the "front foot" in tackling crime, and said burglary has fallen 55% since 1997.

Figures for July to September last year showed there were 69,000 break-ins at homes in England and Wales, the first rise in seven years. Burglaries of commercial premises were also up.

Last year Ms Smith warned Gordon Brown in a leaked memo of a likely increase in "acquisitive" crimes including burglary as a result of the economic downturn.