Falling levels of burglary has seen more than £2.4 million saved in Sussex in the past ten months.

Sussex Police said the introduction of its anti-burglary scheme Operation Magpie in June 2012 had seen huge amounts of cash saved across the county.

Using Home Office estimates, the force said each domestic burglary cost an average of £5,000 in terms of damage caused by the criminal, the value of the items taken, the emotional cost to the victim and the criminal justice system bill for investigating and prosecuting offenders.

The latest figures for this year show that the number of burglaries committed in Sussex has fallen by almost 15%, down from 3,281 between April 2012 and January 2013 to 2,795 in the equivalent period for 2013 to 2014.

A number of people have been arrested and charged with burglary or related offences recently including Ricky Bradick, 26, of Stapley Road, Hove, who was recently jailed for two years for handling stolen goods and driving offences.

George Winter, 23, who would not give his address, has been charged with two burglaries in Upperton Road, Eastbourne, Andrej Popov, 38, of Cambridge Gardens, Hastings, has been charged with a burglary in Tovey Close, Eastbourne, during which thousands of pounds worth of jewellery was stolen, Helen Doyle, 36, of The Crestway, Brighton, has been charged with a burglary in Chiddingly Close, Brighton, Paul Godfrey, 34, of Whitehawk Way, Brighton, has been charged with a burglary in Swanborough Drive, Brighton, William Gunn and David Lown, both 22 and of no fixed address, have been charged with two burglaries in Russell Square, Brighton and George Qatramiz, 29, of Cedarwell Close, Piddinghoe, and Jack Clark, 22, of Putney Park Lane, Putney, London, have been charged with stealing £130,000 worth of antiques, watches and a car in a burglary in Roedean Crescent, Brighton.

Five men and a woman from Shoreham and Hove are on bail in connection with 11 burglaries – five in West Sussex and two each in East Sussex, Wiltshire and Essex in which antiques were stolen.

Three men are on bail for 13 burglaries in Eastbourne from November to January.

Detective Superintendent Jez Graves said: "On a daily basis our officers and staff are working extremely hard and with real focus to prevent and detect the burglary of people's homes.

"It is pleasing when our investigations result in the recovery of victims' property and the imprisonment of offenders but we also put a lot of effort into trying the prevent the offences happening in the first place through visible and targeted patrols and by working with our communities and partners in relation to crime prevention.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne added: "The impact of a burglary can have a profound effect on victims and they may often describe it as a robbery or an invasion of their home; terms that actually relate to acts on a person not a property. This reinforces the deep, personal impact that a burglary has on someone that experiences it.”