Operation to "break the hearts" of criminals
09 Feb 2009
As part of a targeted Urban-wide crack-down against burglary and other crime, Police have made more than 50 arrests in the past four weeks.
In the second phase of "Operation Heartbreak" – a dedicated team of officers including, detectives, Tactical Support Groups, patrol officers and the Auto-Crime team from across the Belfast and Greater Belfast area, have been targeting burglary hot-spots and priority offenders.
Since the 12 January across Urban Region 39 people have been charged for a range of offences. This includes:
- 22 people charged with burglary (this relates to a total of 28 charges for burglary as several people were charged with more than one offence)
- 5 people charged with taking and driving away
- 3 people charged with theft from a motor vehicle
- 9 people charged with other offences including hijacking, driving whilst unfit, driving whilst under the influence of excess alcohol and driving whilst disqualified.
In addition 154 bail checks have been carried out against “Heartbreak” targets and 11 people have been arrested for breach of bail.
The officer in charge of the operation Detective Chief Inspector John McVea said the operation against burglars and other criminals, which was very successful in the summer, would continue.
DCI McVea said: "It is called "Operation Heartbreak" because we want to break the hearts of criminals who are wreaking misery on the community.
"The "Heartbreak" team is targeting those who are carrying out creeper burglaries, stealing cars, handling stolen goods, as well as those who are committing burglaries against older and vulnerable people in our community.
"The "Heartbreak" team are closely examining forensic and DNA evidence as part of active and ongoing investigations. However, this is also about disrupting the activities of criminal gangs and preventing burglaries from occurring in the first place.”
DCI McVea added: "Burglary is a key priority for the Police Service. We know how distressing it is to have your home violated. This is about sending out a clear message that if you commit a burglary, you will be robustly pursued."
The first phase of "Operation Heartbreak" carried out in the summer months in 2008 resulted in 115 arrests and 180 charges for a range of offences including burglary, car crime, breach of bail and possession of drugs.
