By Conor Sharkey
POLICE in Strabane say they are hunting four gangs in relation to a spate of burglaries in the town.
PSNI Area Commander Andy Lemon revealed on Thursday that domestic burglaries in the town have shot up by 92 percent on the same period last year.
Addressing Strabane District Policing Partnership, Chief Inspector Lemon revealed that the rise comes following a six year trend when burglaries were reducing and is in line with the experiences of other policing areas across Northern Ireland. The economic down turn is likely to be playing a role in the increase, Mr Lemon said.
The Strabane police chief also revealed that they have narrowed their investigations down to four gangs operating in the area.
"There has been an increase of 37 crimes from 55 to 92 in all burglaries and especially in relation to domestic burglaries which have increased from 25 to 48, which is almost double the same period last year.
"Closer analysis reveals an increase in the earlier part of the period, from April to July with a total of 50 more offences and 41 in the latter part of the period.
"These were geographically spread as follows: Strabane had 35 burglaries, Castlederg had 20, Dunamanagh had nine, Newtownstewart 19 and Sion Mills had seven during a six month period.
"We have identified up to four different groups carrying out the burglaries throughout the area and one that I would be particularly concerned with was a distraction type burglary that took place at the start of October on Marshalls Row in Sion Mills. An elderly lady awoke to find three men in her living room. They claimed to be police and left, taking her purse and handbag.
"We are currently looking for these three males in either a white or silver saloon car and I would urge anyone with any information to contact police," Chief Inspector Marshall urged.
DPP member Eugene McMenamin said the rise in domestic burglaries could be directly related to the sudden rise in the value of gold.
He wants to know if companies purchasing gold for cash are regulated and if records are kept of where the jewellery comes from in the first place.
"I'm sure 99.9 percent of people who do trade their gold for cash are genuine but I would be interested in finding out what records these companies keep. Would they know if the gold they are buying was stolen or would they be able to trace it?
"Overall, the rise in domestic burglaries is worrying and people need to take precautions."
Simple things like checking for identity before letting someone in or leaving a light on when you go out at night can make all the difference," councillor McMenamin said.
