Police in East Cambridgeshire made a New Year pledge to burglary victims after coming under-fire in an ongoing survey.

Ely Standard: There are various simple but effective ways to help reduce your chances of becoming a victim and protecting your home from burglars is often easier and cheaper than you may think.There are various simple but effective ways to help reduce your chances of becoming a victim and protecting your home from burglars is often easier and cheaper than you may think. (Image: Archant)

Police in East Cambridgeshire made a New Year pledge to burglary victims after coming under-fire in an ongoing survey.

The five point ‘charter’ promises that if you return home to find that your house has been burgled, police

* Aim to be with you inside an hour.

* Have your crime investigated by a detective.

Ely Standard: There are various simple but effective ways to help reduce your chances of becoming a victim and protecting your home from burglars is often easier and cheaper than you may think.There are various simple but effective ways to help reduce your chances of becoming a victim and protecting your home from burglars is often easier and cheaper than you may think. (Image: Archant)

* Have a scene of crime officer attend to look for forensic evidence (DNA, fingerprints and marks, footwear impressions).

* Have your case reviewed by a detective sergeant

* Be kept up to date on the progress of the investigation.

In an online survey aimed at prioritising policing issues in East Cambridgeshire one respondent suggested officers failed to act in burglaries and dealt with them only by issuing a ‘crime number’.

The person wrote: “I luckily haven’t had need to deal with the police much.

“It is my understanding/impression rightly or wrongly that police do not even visit burgled houses nor attempt to catch the culprit but just provide a crime number. Burglary is one of my fears so to me I’d want more done here.”

But in response a spokesman for East Cambridgeshire Police said: “It’s incredibly important that we address a piece of feedback that we have received through our survey work.

“When someone has their house burgled in East Cambridgeshire it’s a big deal.”

The spokesman said East Cambs “has a low rate of crime in our region and we work hard to keep crime down”.

If someone is broken into, promised the spokesman, then the ‘charter’ kicks in.

The spokesman said that if “you disturb a burglar or we are notified of a burglary in progress we will respond immediately (blue lights)”.

He added: “I’d like to offer a huge ‘thank you’ to the person who left the original comment - it is really key that we get the opportunity to identify and address such misconceptions.”

The survey asks the people of East Cambridgeshire what their crime issues are and what they would like to see prioritised.