Burgled seven times in one year

It will come as no surprise that Brighton and Hove is home to the wards with the highest levels of acquisitive crime but the picture is not as bleak as it appears on the surface.

In St Peter's and North Laine, burglary offences fell from 211 between 2004-05 to 121 in the period 2005-06.

In Regency, they fell from 166 to 135 and in Queen's Park from 180 to 123.

However, in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, burglaries rose from 96 to 113.

And in Central St Leonard's ward in Hastings, the problem increased from 93 to 124.

Worthing's Marine ward is the only part of West Sussex to feature in the top 20 worst wards for burglary.

Two crimes that regularly affect Sussex residents are handbag thefts and distraction burglaries.

Handbag, mobile phone and wallet theft is an ongoing problem in town centres across the county.

Police claim a handful of criminals commit the majority of bag and phone thefts - often to fund drug habits.

In Brighton and Hove this type of offence makes up ten per cent of all crime committed in the city.

Shops, bars and clubs are target areas where distracted customers become victims of crime. Often they do not realise until some time later.

William Stewart is operations manager for County Mall Shopping Centre in Crawley.

He said tight security and the co-operation of businesses throughout the town had pushed the problem outside Crawley to the coast and up to south London.

He said: "We have high profile CCTV cameras and security guards on the shop floor.

"We were key in instigating the Crawley and Gatwick Business Watch. More than 100 businesses across the town are involved. It means we can monitor people who may be known for stealing."

The theft of a handbag or mobile phone is a faceless crime - the victim is unlikely to come face-to-face with the criminal.

Distraction burglaries, carried out by bogus callers, are a different matter. Between November and December 2006, a gang was working through rural areas near the A22, forcing their way into homes.

Five homes were targeted by the burglars who threatened the occupants before making away with cash and jewellery.

Posing as water board representatives, police officers and other officials, the tricksters will lie their way into people's homes and take advantage of their trusting nature.

In January this year, an 81- year-old disabled woman had £25,000 life savings stolen when bogus callers struck.

Her bed-ridden son was powerless to stop the robbery and could only call out from his bed. The woman was left too frightened to speak out following the robbery.

Police described the raid, in Coombe Road, Brighton, as "sickening."

The Simmons family in Haywards Heath have been the victims of burglary on various occasions.

Mother-of-four Samantha Simmons lives on the Bentswood Estate with her children and husband Gary.

She said their home had been burgled seven times in one year. They have had money and food stolen.

Mrs Simmons, who runs a Cub group with her husband, said: "It's not safe and it's not a nice place to be.

"It left us feeling angry.

It's made me ill.

"The crime is so bad. It is all down to the parents. They need to bring their children up responsibly like we try to do."

It is not just burglary and theft which damage the fabric of community life.

Low-level antisocial behaviour, often the most insoluble of societal ills, blights the lives of residents on estates across the county.

Residents in parts of Brighton and Hove experiencing problems with antisocial behaviour will be given video cameras to film yobs causing trouble in their communities.

Police have been given £25,000 by the Government to tackle antisocial behaviour, including criminal damage.

The money will be spent on headcams for officers in the city.

It will also pay for "mosquito" devices, which emit an unpleasant noise and are used to disperse groups of gathering youths.

Superintendent Graham Bartlett, of Sussex Police, said: "In addition to these items we will have a new CCTV camera, which we will be able to give to residents who are experiencing problems.

"Crimes will be recorded and the footage used to catch criminals and bring them to justice."

He said criminal damage caused people to have a high perception of crime in their neighbourhood.

He said: "If somebody daubed my neighbour's home in graffiti I'd think I was living in a pretty nasty area."

Witnessing somebody cause criminal damage can be intimidating and frightening. Victims are left picking up the pieces and paying for repairs.

Anne Powell, of Cheltenham Place, Brighton, has experienced a catalogue of damage and antisocial behaviour in the past 12 months.

She blames the crime on the change in licensing laws.

In January 2006, the door of her car was badly dented when a drunk fell against it during an angry row in the street. It cost £550 to repair.

A week later, the side panels on her car were keyed. Her car and her neighbours' vehicles have been scratched and dented.

Flowerpots have been stolen from her front door and her neighbours' windows smashed.

She said: "It may be coincidence but this has all happened since the licensing laws have changed.

"There aren't any police walking the streets, especially at weekends, because they are all on West Street."

She said she would nt want to use video cameras to record the trouble.

Mrs Powell said: "Would I want to go out in the street and film troublemakers at three in the morning? It doesn't sound like it would work for me.

"The only thing to stop it is to change the licensing laws again but that's not going to happen."

To see the statistics for weapons offences in Sussex, click here.