POLICE are visiting second hand dealers in Sussex to stamp out the sale of stolen goods.

Officers will search shops for items taken in a burglary and give advice to shopkeepers to stop them being caught out and to cut the supply chain for criminals.

The operation is part of a three week campaign, starting today, 27/10, involving Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley police forces and warns selling stolen goods could mean 14 years in jail.

Patrols will be stepped up in areas where burglaries have been committed, detectives will share information regularly about crimes in each area and residents will be offered advice to protect their homes.

Detective chief inspector Tanya Jones, of Sussex Police, said: "This is not about harassing second hand dealers but about working with them to tackle crime and help prevent them losing out financially as well.

"The vast majority have no intention of ever buying stolen goods.

"Unfortunately there is a minority of shopkeepers who will happily buy and sell stolen goods as long as they make some money out of it. We need to find them and get them off the streets so that there is no marketplace for stolen items in Sussex.

"If we remove the marketplace, burglars will find it harder and harder to profit from crime and will have to take greater risks to sell the items - making it easier for us to catch them."

Report burglaries or shops selling stolen goods on 101. If you hear or see an incident taking place call 999.

Police urge people to register valuables on immobilise.com.

 

Sussex Police launched Operation Magpie to tackle burglary across the county.

Among the successes of the team in recent days have been the jailing of four burglars in Sussex.

Female cat burglar Jessica Hay (left in the picture) was jailed for four years after she admitted breaking into seven homes and businesses across the Hastings and Rother districts.

The 23-year-old, of Southwater Road, St Leonards, admitted handling stolen goods, breaking into homes in West Hill Road, Church Road, Westfield Lane, Tackleway and White Rock Gardens and breaking into shops in Queens Road, Hastings, and Bexhill Road, St Leonards.

Jake Decker, 18, was jailed for three and a half years for handling stolen goods, an attempted burglary in Langdale Gardens in Hove, burglaries in Coleman Avenue, Hove, and Station Road, Portslade, and an aggravated burglary in Shelldale Road, Portslade.

During the Shelldale Road burglary Decker (central in the picture) climbed into a home through a window and threatened the victim with a knife before escaping with computers and electrical items.

Mark Coop (right in the picture), 26, of Whitebeam Road, Worthing, was jailed for six months after he admitted breaking into a home in Magnolia Close, Worthing, in July.

Other successes have included:

- The charging of John Evans, 33, of Drove Crescent, Portslade, with a burglary in Westbourne Place, Hove, on 16 September. He was released on bail to appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on 16 December.

- The arrest of a 21-year-old man on suspicion of a burglary in Connaught Road, Littlehampton, on 13 October. He was released on bail until 21 November.

- The arrest of a 35-year-old man on suspicion of a burglary in Clyde Road, Brighton, on 13 October. He was released on bail until 19 November.

- The arrest of a 34-year-old man on suspicion of a burglary in Twineham Close, Brighton, on 16 September. He was released on bail until 16 November.