Police in York have joined forces with the Evening Press to help put citizens in the picture about crime in the city by highlighting clusters of incidents using maps. Crime Reporter TONY TIERNEY reports

A SUDDEN spate of burglaries at homes in the South Bank area of York has prompted police to warn people against the "It'll never happen to me" syndrome.

As our map shows, the cluster of 17 burglaries - ten of which happened over a six-day period - are confined to a handful of streets. Police would normally expect to see up to four such crimes in the area in an average week.

Sergeant Richard Spedding, who was recently appointed to the South Bank area, said: "We are doing all we can to find out who the offenders are, but it is just as important to look at preventing these offences in the first place and we need people to help us do that.

"Unfortunately, people are still displaying an amount of apathy and we are trying to get them away from this 'It'll never happen to me' attitude."

Five of the burglaries were at properties where windows or doors had been left open or unlocked.

Sgt Spedding said he understood people needed to open their doors and windows in the hot weather, but he warned: "It is one of the first things burglars look for. The easier it looks to get into someone's premises the more likely they are to be hit."

Householders should tighten up their home security and, if going away on holiday, should make arrangements with neighbours to keep their homes free of the tell-tale signs of an empty house.

Sgt Spedding believes the burglaries are the work of only two or three people, mostly stealing to feed drug habits.

He said: "We don't want people to become frightened about crime, but we want them to be aware. By taking a few simple steps we can all work together to reduce crime." Police will be stepping up patrols in the area and targeting known offenders. Plans are also in the pipeline for a "target hardening" initiative where police and other agencies will visit homes to give crime prevention advice and practical help.

Anyone with information on this spate of burglaries is asked to telephone the police on 01904 631312 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Anyone who wants to discuss local crime issues with Sgt Spedding or the area's community officer, PC Dave White, is asked to phone 01904 631321.

Updated: 14:57 Thursday, August 23, 2001