Police said today that a concerted effort to cut the number of domestic burglaries across the Thames Valley had reduced the number of burglary victims by 683.

Since Operation Breaker was launched in July, police said there had been a 12.6 per cent drop in the number of homes being broken into compared to last year.

Between July 1 and December 14, 2009, 1,067 domestic burglaries were recorded in the Thames Valley; during the equivalent period last year there were 1,269.

Operation Breaker, originally scheduled to finish at the end of December, will be extended to the end of January and will be boosted by £143,000 of funding from the Home Office as part of its national drive to tackle serious acquisitive crime.

Detective Superintendent Barry Halliday said: “Tackling serious acquisitive crime is a priority for Thames Valley Police and we’ve been working hard to improve the way we tackle burglaries. The good news is that fewer people have become victims this year compared to the same period last year.

“However, we are extending Operation Breaker because there is still more work to be done. This extra funding will be used to boost the campaign and tackle areas that are being hit hard by burglars.

"The money will be used on operations to target specific offenders with enforcement activity and publicise ways that residents can keep their homes safe.

"We want to let criminals know that they should think twice about stealing from people’s homes this Christmas and New Year.

“Part of our success is due to us getting good crime prevention advice to residents, and we need their continued support.

"We ask them to remove temptation for burglars by following a few simple crime reduction tips, such as keeping your presents out of sight and not on show near windows and not leaving packaging from expensive items next to recycling boxes outside.”

Events held as part of Operation Breaker have included: a student burglary drive in September and October targeting new students at freshers’ events with crime reduction tips; a concerted force-wide month of action in October; and a distraction burglary initiative in Berkshire East and Buckinghamshire that includes the launch of a pilot Nominate a Neighbour scheme.