The crimes to be aware of in Hartlepool during lockdown - and how to stay safe

Hartlepool Community Safety Team has issued security advice following recent reports of thefts in the town.

This includes urging residents to take steps to secure homes and vehicles to deter thieves.

Advice states people should always make sure their car is locked, especially overnight and when unattended, and valuables are removed.

Workers should also never leave tools in vans overnight, and always ensure that tools are clearly marked with a name, company name and address.

Residents should also make sure there are adequate locks on any shed and never leave valuable items out in the garden overnight, while garages should also always be locked.

Advice also states windows and doors should be closed and locked on a night and whenever people leave the house or are in the garden.

Safety bosses also urge residents to ensure car and house keys are out of sight, along with laptops, phones and money, and to always take keys out of locks.

Finally residents who have a burglar alarm are urged to always use it when they leave the house or overnight, and advice is also given fitting good exterior lighting can help deter an offender.

It comes after police in Hartlepool stressed they would be continuing hard work to keep communities safe despite the Covid-19 outbreak, and urged residents to work with them.

Hartlepool Neighbourhoods Inspector Matthew Reeves, from Cleveland Police, previously said: “With the well-documented reductions in resources in recent years and now with the coronavirus there have been and will continue to be challenges, but we all remain committed to continuing the good work which has gone before.

“There is much work to be done, but the resources are arriving in Hartlepool to make progress and if we all continue to work together with the same aims then we can continue to make a difference.”

The latest Safer Hartlepool Partnership figures for the town, from October to December 2019, showed there was a drop of 7%, and 224 incidents, in overall reported crime compared to the same period in 2018.

This included an almost 20% drop in acquisitive crime compared to the previous year, from 1,237 to 992, while vehicle crime dropped from 157 to 129.

For further information residents can contact the Hartlepool Community Safety Team at [email protected] or by calling (01429) 523100.

Crimes should be reported to Cleveland Police on 101 or, in an emergency, on 999.

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