Croydon has been awarded an extra £77,000 to fight crime in the borough after burglary figures rose sharply.

The Home Office cash will help to fund a wide range of activity, including a dedicated proactive police team recently set up to tackle the “despicable crime.”

Councillor Gavin Barwell, the council's cabinet member for safety and cohesion, said: “We welcome the extra funding, which will enable us to pay for more hours of police time to boost the work we are already doing to tackle this issue.

“Burglary is a despicable crime and a priority for the police, the council and all the agencies in the Safer Croydon Partnership.”

The team will consist of 20 officers from the Uniform Tasking Unit, the Croydon Crime Squad and the Intelligence Unit.

They will carry out surveillance on offenders, carry out plain clothes patrols in hotspot areas, make immediate arrest enquiries relating to burglary offenders who fail to appear in court or breach bail, and employ a variety of other tactics.

Borough commander, Chief Superintendent Adrian Roberts, said: “Croydon, like areas all over the UK, is experiencing a rise in burglary and other acquisitive crimes.

“We are catching offenders all the time, and we are taking robust action against them, our detection rate for burglary is better than most boroughs in London, but as far as I’m concerned that’s not enough.

“We want to do everything we can to prevent our residents being burgled in the first place.

“That’s why we are working together with others in the Safer Croydon Partnership to closely monitor known offenders, and make sure we do all we can to deter and disrupt those at risk of becoming involved in this kind of crime.

“At the same time we are making residents aware of what they can do to protect their homes from burglars, with safety advice around how to secure their property and ensure they don’t become an easy target.”

Safer Neighbourhood Teams will continue to play a key role, patrolling during peak times within hotspot areas, and carrying out visits to known burglars.

Have you been burgled? Let us know in the comments section below or contact the newsdesk on 020 8330 9558