New advice videos in Asian languages to help prevent gold jewellery burglaries

Merseyside Police has released a collection of crime prevention videos recorded in a selection of Asian languages that share advice on home security and protecting valuables.

Although Merseyside has seen a decrease in burglary this year, advice is being given ahead of the festive season to people who may be storing high-value jewellery and other expensive items. In particular, advice is being shared with members of the Asian community who may follow the tradition of giving gold jewellery as a gift, which is then passed down family generations.

Sergeant Azizur Rahman of the Community Engagement Unit said: “The new videos allow us to easily share crime prevention advice with Merseyside’s Asian community in a variety of languages. In some households, English may not be spoken much, if at all, so we can ensure this important advice reaches people in the language they use every day.

“The work of the Community Engagement Unit is all about forging strong links with community groups, and the production of the videos has been a really useful addition to the work that my colleagues and I do right across the force area.

“The videos have been well received and they’ll be shared in the community by lots of the venues we visit on a regular basis, including the region’s mosques, The Deen Centre, The Pagoda Arts Centre, The Wirral Chinese Association and The Bengali Association.

“I’d like to thank all of the community groups and organisations that have supported the sharing of the videos. It’s exactly this sort of partnership working that helps us beat the burglars and keep our communities safe.”

The videos are hosted on the force’s YouTube channel and are available in the following languages: Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Leaflets are also available in each respective language, linked in the description of each video.

Detective Inspector Tony O’Brien of the Operation Castle burglary team said: “We are very pleased to see the release of these new videos ahead of the darker nights and the run up to Christmas when we often see an increase in burglaries.

“In recent weeks, there have been a number of burglaries where the victims have been members of the Asian community and gold jewellery has been among the items taken. Burglary is a very personal crime and having pieces of jewellery stolen that are of enormous sentimental value is incredibly upsetting for the victims.

“It is rare for people from the Asian community to be targeted in this way, but through Operation Castle, we are committed to pursuing the offenders of such crimes and I’m pleased that we were able to charge two men with burglary offences earlier this month.”

To help protect your valuables and keep your home secure, follow this advice:

• Don’t leave jewellery or cash on display in your home or even hidden – instead use a bank safety deposit box to store high-value items, or buy a good quality safe and bolt it to a brick wall
• Photograph each item, keep a written description and make sure it is included in your insurance policy
• Use special property marking technology from securedbydesign.com
• Be discreet if wearing jewellery or carrying large amounts of cash in public
• Make sure your social media account security settings are ‘high’ or ‘private’
• Keep your windows and doors locked and use a burglar alarm and security lighting
• Be vigilant of unexpected callers or cold-callers offering doorstep services – write down who they said they were, details of any vehicle they were in, and save and back-up any CCTV footage of them
• Join your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme
• Report any suspicious activity, such as being watched or followed, to the police via the website, on social media or by calling 101

More information can be found at: www.merseyside.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/

If you have any information about anyone acting suspiciously in the vicinity of homes or businesses, or being in possession of suspected stolen goods, please contact our social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or pass information via their secure online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously

 

    

 

Merseyside Police YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/merseysidepolice/videos

 

Links to individual videos:

English: https://youtu.be/8bnkH6icjLQ

Bengali: https://youtu.be/fXYkehA5j5Q

Urdu: https://youtu.be/OHKdXHhxHlI

Hindi: https://youtu.be/FlG9HCZghQ4

Punjabi: https://youtu.be/SaZ9NIQgbqM

Tamil: https://youtu.be/4ioiUG7zeIc

Cantonese: https://youtu.be/ouHxPNQXY5s

Mandarin: https://youtu.be/94nZ7hTpdLE