People urged to secure metal gates

20/01/2009

Residents and businesses with metal gates in Northants have been urged to ensure security is tight to stop thieves.

The Northamptonshire Police stated that although statistics show the number of metal gate thefts to be dropping, people should still be vigilant.

A spokesperson for the force said its message has not changed and a two-pronged security strategy be adopted, regardless of the trends and proliferation of gate thefts

They commented: "If you're on overt premises that have these metals which are vulnerable with regards to the infrastructure, we would ask people to put in as good as security as they possibly can to protect that."

Police said larger buildings need to be as well protected as possible although it acknowledged that this is difficult to do.

The spokesperson concluded that members of the public need to remain on their guard around "groups of people that may be working on roofs or acting suspiciously in areas around churches or schools".

Figures from the police show that during 2007 metal thefts in the region stood at 758, a number which dropped to 606 during 2008.