POLICE forces across the UK have warned Asians to keep their gold jewellery in a safe or bank deposit box after a spate of burglaries in recent months.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Merseyside Police are among the forces that have seen a number of thefts targeting members of the Asian community with family gold in recent months.
GMP said criminals often commit these burglaries in teams of two or three. They enter homes through open windows or by smashing doors with objects found outside the property, such as garden tools or bricks.
They added that patrols of officers targeted hotspot areas during Ramadan in March and April.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said people should store jewellery or valuables in a secure location such as a hidden safe.
They added: “Keeping an inventory of your jewellery and registering them for free on websites like www.immobilise. com or www.secureassetregister.com will improve your chances of getting them back if they are lost or stolen.
“And when wearing valuable jewellery while outside, keep it hidden under clothing where possible.”
Families have been urged to use bank lockers to store valuables
In March, police in Leicester investigated a burglary after gold jewellery was stolen from an Asian household in Queniborough Road.
In January, Ionut Dobre was jailed after forensic evidence linked him to the scene of a burglary in Birmingham last year. Items such as cash, clothes and jewellery were stolen from the property amounting to more than £10,000.
Gurpal Virdi, a former detective sergeant for the Metropolitan Police, said criminals were increasingly targeting Asian women and homes as the value of gold had gone up and jewellery was often passed down in families.
He told Eastern Eye: “With banks closing down safe deposit boxes, a lot of Asians are keeping the jewellery at home.
“Criminals are aware of this, thus (they are) targeting women and men, especially at wedding time.
“Asian people putting up lights in front of their houses at wedding times are just attracting criminals.
“There is an increase in aggravated burglaries in Asian areas where the criminals force their way into homes to demand gold and cash.
“Criminals are also committing burglaries with metal detectors.”
Some 29,555 robbery offences were recorded by the Met in the year to March 2023, up 21 per cent from 24,377 the year before, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Across England and Wales, there were 75,300 robberies recorded, an increase of 13 per cent from 66,300 in 2022.
Virdi added: “I once had a case where I arrested a street robber and found gold jewellery on him.
“I traced the victim via the jeweller as it was hallmarked. The jeweller remembered and had records as to whom it was sold to and the robber was convicted.
“I would advise people to form local residents’ groups to keep each other informed of suspicious behaviour.
“In our area, we have a WhatsApp group to keep each other informed and use our CCTV [cameras] to capture evidence for the police.”
Russ Murden, senior lecturer in professional policing at the University of Bedfordshire, told Eastern Eye: “I can recall in my policing career issues around thefts, usually by domestic burglary, of gold jewellery from the Asian community.
“My impression at the time was the suspects when dealt with were from the Asian community too. That was certainly the message that was communicated.
“I can recall visiting a mosque in Aylesbury to pass on this message after an increase in such offences.
“There have been cases recently that have attracted media attention where mobile phones, handbags have been grabbed from people in the streets by offenders on bikes.”
Asif*, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, was on a pilgrimage to Mecca when he saw CCTV footage on his phone from inside his property which showed masked men ransacking his home.
He said: “The impact on my family has been immense. My place of safety no longer felt safe.
“We believe they were looking for gold. They were looking through pillowcases and emptied out cupboards and drawers.
“I want people to be more switched on with their home security. Leave lights on to give the impression someone is home, it may deter them.”
* Name has been changed
Damian Talbot