POLICE and volunteers spent two days this week visiting residents homes and handing out security advice. Operational Saturnalia, which involved police community support officers, crime prevention volunteers and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, took

POLICE and volunteers spent two days this week visiting residents' homes and handing out security advice.

Operational Saturnalia, which involved police community support officers, crime prevention volunteers and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, took place in Chaucer Way and Hardy Close in Hitchin.

Between 250 and 300 houses were visited in an area hit by a number of burglaries earlier this year.

Insp Julie Wheatley, of Hertfordshire Police, said the operation was intelligence-based.

She added: "Burglary in the home is down by 7.9 per cent in Hitchin and I would like to see it reduced even more.

"This operation is about crime prevention advice and the volunteers play a very important part in crime prevention.

"We drop off leaflets a few weeks before to alert people to the fact that we are coming to do this operation, and then we knock on all the doors and ask residents if they would like us to do the domestic security survey.

"Once the survey is completed the information is then put onto the police computer and we can see what they need doing."

For elderly and vulnerable residents the information is referred to SAFE, a security company which gives free equipment to households and fits the equipment for them.

In one house on Monday the resident was advised not to leave her iPod and mobile phone near the kitchen window as they would be easy targets for thieves.

Other advice given to the resident was to get catches for her window and to lock the back door when she goes out of her house.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or you would like more information about the scheme, contact the volunteer coordinator Sally Russell on 01438 757515.