Sheffield's burglary hotspots revealed - including Southey, Burngreave and Walkley

Figures showed the top five most targeted districts last year were Richmond, Southey, Burngreave, Walkley and the city centre.

There were 3152 reported burglaries in 2021 – the equivalent of about eight a day.

This was slightly more than in 2020 (3036 incidents) but considerably less than in 2019 (4281 incidents).

High-profile burglaries in Richmond include a break-in at Richmond Church in April last year in which three laptops and keys were stolen.

South Yorkshire Police said they have identified the areas a ‘hotspot’ and focused resources from the Operational Support Unit, Neighbourhoods and Criminal Investigation Department to tackle and reduce burglaries.

This has included conducting checks on known offenders, deploying dedicated patrols and introducing more community engagement through neighbourhood policing officers.

A spokesperson for the force said: “Work is carried out to identify hotspot areas and trends based on patterns of behaviour from offenders. This information is used to target and harden areas; ensuring officers are deployed as part of regular pro-active patrols to prevent further criminal activity.

“Alongside pro-active operations, and work from our dedicated burglary team, we are continuing to see an increase in residents signing up to smart water schemes, an initiative that marks items of value with a traceable liquid, enabling officers to trace and recover stolen items, as well as those responsible for the crime.

"We encourage all members of the community to ensure all doors and windows are kept locked, valuables are moved out of sight and, where possible, security lights and sensors are used.”

The figures, obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, puts Richmond top of the pile with 185 incidents last year.

Then came Southey with 178, Burngreave (174), Walkley (163) and then city centre (160).

The figures show reported crimes categorised as ‘residential burglary’ which includes all buildings or parts of buildings that are within the boundary of, or form a part of, a dwelling and includes the dwelling itself, vacant dwellings, sheds, garages, outhouses, summer houses and any other structure that meets the definition of a building.

Dr Alan Billings, police and crime commissioner for South Yorkshire, described burglary as ‘one of the most distressing of neighbourhood crimes’ and has made tackling the offence part of his Police and Crime Plan for 2022-25.

He said: “I have asked the police to make this a priority not only because of the seriousness of the offence but also because burglaries are more prevalent in South Yorkshire than other similar areas.”

“I want the police to understand why this should be and work out how they can reduce them.

“Part of the answer is by strengthening the neighbourhood teams, which is happening. Strong neighbourhood teams can act as a deterrent and can also gather community intelligence.”

He added: “But the police must also increase the work of analysing patterns and identifying suspects. In this way they can get better at preventing crimes as well as investigating them.

“I have told the police that I will be asking questions about the progress they are making on neighbourhood crimes, including burglaries, at each monthly Public Accountability Board where I hold the force to account.”

For crime prevention advice visit https://www.southyorks.police.uk/find-out/crime-prevention-advice/burglary/