Gloucestershire worst in the West for burglaries

Burglars took £250 from the till of this business in Cheltenham

Gloucestershire had more burglaries per head of population than anywhere else in the West last year.

Organised criminal gangs have been targeting rural areas, with the Cotswolds experiencing a spate of high value car thefts - where people have had vehicles taken from their property.

Gloucestershire Police said it has recently caught some offenders but admitted catching burglars can be a major challenge.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime figures, released in January, show the force is in the top 10 constabularies in England with the highest number of burglaries as a percentage of the population.

Gloucestershire had 4.5 burglaries per 1,000 people in the year ending September 2023, while in Avon and Somerset it was 3.5 and in Wiltshire 2.5.

Acting Insp Gareth Gladwin said the rural nature of parts of Gloucestershire can make it a challenge to police

Cars taken from homes in rural areas often end up being used in other crimes, Acting Insp Gareth Gladwin said.

"Burglaries are such a hard thing to catch people for," he added.

"We may not get them this time, but it only takes that one little thing for them to mess up and we can get them.

"The other week we had four [cars taken] within an hour. We caught them after a couple of days."

A coffee shop outside Cheltenham railway station had £2,000 stolen

Businesses in the county have also been on the receiving end of crimes.

The Green Coffee Machine in Cheltenham had a break in at the end of February, during which £2,000 was taken.

General manager Richard Cole said: "Unfortunately they were in here for quite a while so they managed to prise open our safe and clear out that.

"They took the float and everything. They also took the staff tips which was upsetting."

Police have released an appeal for witnesses in an effort to try and find the subject.

Gloucestershire's PCC candidates

The role of Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is up for election on 2 May with four people standing.

Conservative incumbent Chris Nelson, Liberal Democrat candidate Martin Surl, Labour candidate Ashley Smith and independent Matthew Randolph are all campaigning for the position.

Mr Nelson said burglary was a problem that "we need to sort" and has included the issue in his manifesto.

"Taking a zero tolerance approach to it [burglary] - like I did with anti-social behaviour and cut that by 50% - it will solve the problem," Mr Nelson said.

Mr Surl, who previously served two terms as an independent PCC, said he would improve forensics and training within the constabulary.

"We've got to get back to a time where every crime matters, and it seems to me burglary doesn't matter as much as it should do at the moment," Mr Surl said.

'Sense of security'

Mr Smith said he wants to see more police officers on the beat responding to every single burglary whenever a crime has been committed.

"It's about that sense of reassurance and that sense of security in your own, I think that's really important," Mr Smith said.

Mr Randolph did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment and has nothing specifically about burglary in his manifesto.

You can view all the manifestos here.