Three linked burglaries in St Albans

Jewellery was stolen from three linked burglaries in St Albans on Saturday (2 December) and police are asking for any witnesses or anyone with any information to come forward.

Between 12 noon and 7.30pm, thousands of pounds of jewellery were stolen from an address in Charmouth Road. Crime reference 41/96628/23.

Between 3pm and 10.43pm, jewellery was stolen from an address in Highclere Court, Avenue Road.  41/96512/23.

Between 3.30pm and 6pm in Blenheim Road, a burglary occurred but nothing was stolen. Crime reference 41/96504/23.

“Being burgled is always an invasive experience and it seems worse at this time of year,” said St Albans district Detective Inspector Ady Lysak.  “We have a tough stance on tackling burglars and do lots of work to help prevent them from happening in the first place, as well as covert and overt patrols.  We know who some of our burglars are, so we keep an extra eye on them. You can help us to reduce the chances of being a victim of burglary this Christmas.

“Most burglars are opportunist.  Make sure you lock all windows and doors when you go out, use timer switches on lights, consider investing in alarms, CCTV or doorbell cams and report any suspicious behaviour.”

The best thing we can do is prevent burglaries happening in the first place.  Securely lock all windows and doors, including double locking PVCu doors and give your home a ‘lived-in’ look. 

Car keys should be kept out of sight as sometimes vehicles are stolen after thieves managed to steal keys placed close to letter boxes or insecure windows and doors, enabling them to drive vehicles away without having to break into them.

Keys, numberplates and disability badges have also been stolen from vehicles across St Albans, Harpenden and London Colney.

Between 21 November and 1 December, there were 13 thefts offences in the St Albans district – 10 thefts from motor vehicles and three vehicle interference.

DI Lysak added: “Together, we can easily prevent thefts from motor vehicles by simply removing property and securely locking your vehicle.”

Please report information online, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101.  If you see any suspicion behaviour or suspect a crime is in progress, call 999.

Sign up to receive OWL messages (opens in a new window) or download the ‘OWL crime alerts’ app to receive local police and partner messages.

You can also follow the work of local officers on Facebook and Twitter @StAlbansPolice (opens in a new widow) to see what action is being taken on a daily basis to help keep the district a safe place to live, work and visit.