Police in Edinburgh have today launched their local campaign to tackle housebreaking across the Capital.
The Police Scotland initiative, Operation RAC, was officially launched on Monday 16th December as the Force looks to address an overall 4% increase in housebreaking offences since last year.
In Edinburgh, reports of housebreaking have increased by over 40% in comparison to the last year and the issue has been identified as a policing priority for many local communities.
A specialist team of around 50 officers, who will specifically focus on investigating housebreaking, are supporting the city’s Operation RAC activities.
Prior to the national launch, police in Edinburgh had already undertaken significant levels of investigation into Capital housebreaking and since Friday 7th December a total of 44 people have subsequently been charged or reported to the Procurator Fiscal for over 120 offences.
In addition, property worth around £22,500 has also been recovered.
Operation RAC enquiries and action will continue within Edinburgh anyone found to be involved in housebreaking or associated offences can expect to be dealt with by police.
Detective Inspector John Kavanagh, who is leading Operation RAC activities in Edinburgh said: “We recognise that the rise in housebreaking offences, particularly from sheds, garages and outbuildings, is a concern for a number of our communities and we are carrying out targeted action to address this matter as part of our commitment to keeping people safe.
“Dedicated teams of officers are actively investigating a number of offences reported within the Capital and every day we are making more and more arrests and recovering property so it can be reunited with its rightful owners.
“Our communities have identified housebreaking as a local priority and we will use all resources at our disposal to tackle the issue and bring offenders to justice.
“Housebreakers should be left in no doubt that we are working alongside our partner agencies and the public to identify you; find you and arrest you.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
