French-made cars become the target of thieves (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

French-made cars become the target of thieves

CAR thieves are targeting French-made vehicles around Swindon, the latest crime figures reveal.

Peugeots and Citroens have become prime targets in 109 reported incidents of car thefts or thefts from cars in the two weeks up to Monday last week.

The figures reveal that the Kingshill area of Swindon and multi-storey car parks in the town centre are car crime hotspots.

Det Insp Andy Deegan, of Swindon CID, said: "I know Citroen has upgraded its hi-fi systems, but when we look at some of the things stolen from vehicles such as cash and mobile phones that has nothing to do with the make of the car.

"At this stage we don't know exactly why thieves are targeting these vehicles, but we would advise people to lock valuables out of sight."

In general police in Swindon appear to be winning the war on domestic burglaries. In the past fortnight there have been 34 house burglaries a decrease of 44 of the same period last year and the lowest seasonal total for the past four years.

Nine of these burglaries were committed because a window or door was left open and five occurred while someone was still in the house.

There have been no distraction burglaries in the past fortnight and Operation Delta the dedicated Swindon police burglary unit has snared 15 people in the past two weeks.

Supt Richard Rowland said: "The arrests have cleared up a considerable number of burglaries and all those arrested have court appearances pending.

"The majority of burglaries are committed to fund drug habits and the war on Class A drugs is a priority for us it's the supply we're after. People know when addicts turn up outside their homes and that's why we need to know where groups congregate.

"There are lots of individual street dealers carrying out deals in Swin-don and we need people to help us by leaving information on the Swindon Drugs Hotline."

Information can be left on the Evening Advertiser-backed Swin-don Drugs Hotline anonymously by calling 01793 528800.