‘After a family holiday, I walked into my bedroom and what I saw changed me forever’

It all started with a childhood memory that haunts him to this day. Chief Supt Chris Foster was a young boy who returned from a family holiday to find his home had been broken into.

“I remember an eight-year-old kid being robbed,” he recalled. “It was my parents’ house in Barnsley. We’d gone camping one weekend and had a new window frame put in at the back of the house, so it was putty and glass and it was wooden. It had a wooden window sill that wasn’t painted.”

“We entered the house and there were bits and pieces scattered everywhere. I clearly remember this boot mark on the window sill. It was a sign that someone had been in the house.

“They stole my mother’s engagement ring. They went through all the bedrooms and I couldn’t sleep that night.”

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That moment changed Chris’ perspective and made him feel unsafe in his own home.

“I had to put a rolling pin under my bed, which provided some sort of comfort and protection,” he said. “But to this day, I remember the feeling of thinking someone had entered my bedroom when I walked in.”

His anger at the violation is still visceral. And now, it is this feeling that motivates him to protect others in their own homes.

Greater Manchester Police’s top cop has helped launch an anti-burglary initiative to reduce burglaries in the area. The Force launched Operation Citadel.

The message behind the name is simple: “A castle is supposed to be your safe place, your home,” he said. The force is focused on ensuring people’s homes are kept safe.

Chief Sut. GMP said it had been tasked with implementing the “cultural change” requested by Chief Constable Stephen Watson in investigating theft in the area and supporting victims.

This means more robust research, genuine empathy with victims, and the use of psychology.

The results are impressive. There were 21,875 burglaries in Greater Manchester in 2020. There have been 11,236 so far this year. The launch of Operation Fortress in July 2021 led to higher detection rates and more arrests.

But this makes ranking officers aware of the long-term impact that theft can have on people, which in turn gives impetus to the agency’s operations.

“There’s more focus on burglary now. We’ve done some work with victims where they’ve come to talk to us about how we respond to burglaries. The impact of being robbed on some of them has been horrific. We’ve seen people moving around. “You’re talking about assault crimes because they’re sexual offences,” Chief Supt Foster said.

“We need to make sure we carry out a quality investigation and build a case to charge someone and send them to court. “It’s outside our remit to impose sentences but we can liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service and perhaps influence them.

“I know the Chief Constable has done this on many occasions where we need to work better with the leadership at the CPS. We are arresting large numbers of people – the number of arrests for theft has increased dramatically. We need to respond. Call 999 quickly and respond immediately. “That culture has changed; if they know someone has been arrested, arraigned and convicted, it gives victims closure.”

Chief Supt Foster insists the police’s ‘this is a burglary, what are your chances of detecting it’ mentality has disappeared.

“How can you know unless you go out there and investigate?” he said.

“The Chief Constable said we will investigate every case when someone comes to your home and steals. It’s the right thing to do.”

Overall burglary crimes in Greater Manchester saw a 31.6% decrease between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with 7,382 fewer crimes.

Business and community theft saw a 28 per cent decrease from 5,478 in 2021-22 to 3,942 in 2023-24. There was a 32.7% decrease in residential burglary crimes; 5,846 fewer crimes were recorded between October ’23 and September ’24 compared to October ’21 – September ’22.

The proportion of people arrested for recorded crimes increased from 12.8 percent in 2022-23 to 14.2 percent in 2023-24. During the same period, the number of solved thefts in the business world increased from 6.9 to 16.8 percent, and in residential thefts from 4.8 to 9.9 percent. This turnaround is a significant development, considering that four years ago, only about one percent of burglaries were solved.

Chief Supt Foster said: “We’re starting with preventative messaging, for example, to ensure people don’t leave doors open when the dark nights set in, and to warn students coming back for the new term – they often live with several other students and could pose a danger target.”

Officers visit college campuses and set up crime prevention stands during freshman week.

Other messages to prevent theft are posted at: Christmas We talked again about the risks of leaving gifts displayed in homes or vehicles. Chief Supt Foster said: “We have experienced an increase in family gold thefts where Asian families are being targeted. We can attribute this to a particular time of year, traditionally wedding season, and send a message in advance.”

Police are also issuing postcode-specific warnings and advisories to areas experiencing high numbers of thefts.

GMP has also adapted the “nudge theory”, which was first used at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. “The airport spent thousands of pounds cleaning the floors of the men’s urinals and thought about how we could cut costs and provide more accurate aiming for the men. So they introduced a transfer of a fly to the bottom of the urinal – so it’s usually aimed at the men. This made it a more accurate shot and cleanliness It has greatly reduced its bills.

“We then spoke to University of Huddersfield professor Jason Roach and did some work with him on how nudge theory could be used to persuade someone to do something, rather than telling them they’ve done something wrong. Instead of blaming the victim, we needed a way to persuade people to do something different.” way

“For example, with the student issue, instead of going around and saying, ‘You’re being ridiculous, six people living together, you leave your doors open and you don’t know who’s coming in and out.’ If there was a burglary, you’d ask, ‘Do you close your door when you go out, do you make sure it’s locked?'” Blaming the victim It’s better to have a little nuance in terms of nudging people instead.”

He added: “There are repeat or near-repeat victimizations where people are more likely to be robbed six to eight weeks after being robbed. You might think the thief would stay away because there might be an increased presence there. But the situation has diminished. According to the theory of optimum foraging, thieves know the area, where they’re going.” “They know it’s a weak spot and they know what they’re going to get if they break in and they’re probably going to get robbed.”

Officers deployed following burglaries are now given an investigation-based package. “Most of what we did was well-intentioned but generic. We needed to be a little more sophisticated to improve the service to our victims.”

The packages include CCTV and recordings of house-to-house investigations where they must knock on doors to look for witnesses, as well as poking the police officer. A home security checklist is completed by victims, which gives them a score that helps identify weak points in their property’s defenses. There is also a burglary investigation standards brochure that officers must follow.

A PCSO will attend a few days after the theft. “We do something called kocooning – seeing what else we can do for victims and neighbors. For example, if it’s local authority or housing association property can we help replace doors and windows – if not can we provide kits?” Like window alarms and timers for turning on lights. However, there needs to be a very complex approach to this issue; Every night you’re away for two weeks, we ask if the light downstairs comes on, or if it comes on in the bathroom at 3 a.m. and then goes off. It needs to be subtle enough to give the impression that someone is on the property a minute later.”

Hotspot patrol means officers now return to the area where a property has been burglarized after weeks to ensure neighbors are aware of a possible second attack by criminals.

Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via gmp.police.uk or 101. In an emergency, always call 999. Information about crime can also be shared anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.