Local police are investigating a series of domestic burglaries to houses and flats in the Kemptown area of Brighton and have made two arrests.
Officers carried out a search warrant on Thursday 19 January in the city and detained a 40-year-old London man on suspicion of burglary and a woman aged 37 from Brighton on suspicion of handling stolen goods. The two detainees remain in custody for questioning.
There have been seven offences in a very small area since 22 December, including College Road, College Gardens, Great College Street, Montague Place and Abbey Road.
Three of the offences happened in Great College Street on Monday and Tuesday, 15 and 16 January.
The burglaries take place at varying times of day, and mainly electrical items such as laptops and mobiles are stolen.
The series of offences follow the armed robbery at WH Smith Post Office on St Georges Road, Kemptown, which occurred on October 9th. The perpetrators threatened staff with a knife and got away with about £10,000.
In November 2017 861 crimes were recorded within 1 mile of the centre of Great College Street, BN2 1HJ. The area is within Kemptown’s policing neighbourhood. Robberies in Brighton are up by forty percent this year, along with sexual offences up by nineteen percent, and violent incidents by twenty five percent.
This is the second year in a row that recorded crime in Brighton and Hove has increased.
These figures have been released ahead of impending approval from the City Council for a three year plan targeted at reducing crime across Brighton and Hove. However, these figures may not represent crime in the area with complete accuracy since many incidents remain unreported for various reasons.
The council have identified Kemptown as a hotspot for robberies. Police are increasing patrols in the area and investigating officers continue to investigate the recent robberies. Detective Sergeant Chris Lane said: “We would urge the local community to be vigilant, to assess their home security and ensure doors and windows are secured.”
Brighton & Hove police tweeted: “Alert for Kemptown residents – there have been several recent burglaries in the area – please take care of your property and let us know of any suspicious activity.”
Police are increasing patrols in the area and investigating officers are actively pursuing several lines of enquiry.
Detective Sergeant Chris Lane said: “We would urge the local community to be vigilant, to assess their home security and ensure doors and windows are secured. We are appealing for information about any suspicious people or activity.
“Contact us online or by calling 101 quoting serial 238 of 17/01 or if it is a crime in action dial 999 immediately.”
