Burglary Reduction in Action: The Hartlepool Experience

This paper draws on research for the evaluation of the Home Office Reducing Burglary Initiative to examine one project and assess its success in reducing burglary. Hartlepool chose a variety of interventions which were well targeted with respect to the problems of the area and to the resources available. Implementation was assisted by strong management and close cooperation with the community. Analysis of burglary data showed that Hartlepool met its own target of reducing burglary by 25 per cent in the first two years, and achieved a net reduction of 55 burglaries after trends in the surrounding area had been removed. Further work has shown that this reduction has continued over a further two years, resulting in a total saving of 138 burglaries. As a whole the project was cost-beneficial, with net benefits after two years of 64,000 pound. Effects of individual interventions have not always been clear, but some have had beneficial impacts.