MORE than 30 suspects have been arrested and the numbers of burglaries at homes in the eastern area which includes Stevenage and North Herts has decreased following an initiative which started at the beginning of January, police have revealed.Julie Wheat

MORE than 30 suspects have been arrested and the numbers of burglaries at homes in the eastern area which includes Stevenage and North Herts has decreased following an initiative which started at the beginning of January, police have revealed.

Julie Wheatley is the local tasking and co-ordination chief inspector.

She said: "Figures show at this time of the year across the county the number of burglaries can increase.

"Operation Allow was introduced to proactively tackle this issue and I am extremely pleased to say it has been successful so far, so much so that the operation will continue to run through February. I would like to thank all the members of staff involved in this operation for making it so successful."

Operation Allow is staffed by a dedicated team of officers. Most of the work involved is intelligence-led but there have been increased plain clothed and high visibility patrols around the clock. There have been almost 20 fewer offences during January compared to 12 months previously.

Also as part of the operation, postcards have been sent to those suspected of being involved in house burglaries.

The Wish You Were Here postcards are being sent to those wanted because they had failed to appear at court or have been linked to a crime by forensics.

Chief Insp Wheatley added: "We will continually seek to arrest those who commit crime in the county and attempt to avoid the courts. The use of these postcards in the past has worked extremely well and is proving an excellent tool as part of Operation Allow.