Police getting the edge over theft, robbery

ROBBERIES and thefts in Shanghai have decreased in the past 10 months, the Shanghai Security Bureau announced yesterday.

While officials did not give exact figures they said the case rate had dropped by 2.6 percent while the rate of crime clearance by the police had increased by 0.4 percent over the same period for the previous year.

Bureau spokeswoman Fang Jie said the number of robbery and snatch and grab cases was down by 2.9 percent, burglaries were down 2.1 percent, thefts from safes down 29.9 percent and vehicle thefts down 26 percent.

She said there had been 1,463 wire and cable thefts in the 10-month period but the number of these cases solved by police was 23.4 percent higher.

Police had also cracked 101 criminal gangs. Police said gangs were causing increasing problems.

In Putuo District, police broke a 10-member burglary ring last Monday. The gang is believed to have been involved in more than 60 thefts in five districts and had stolen goods worth more than 100,000 yuan (US$13,514).

In the Pudong New Area, police cracked down on a bigger gang whose nine members were responsible for more than 150 burglaries since August raking in more than one million yuan worth of goods.

Both these gangs targeted older residential areas prying open doors or windows to gain entry.

Police in Pudong in October grabbed three members of a gang which specialized in stealing goods from the trunks of Santana cars. The gang is believed to have committed 40 such thefts, once carrying out seven thefts in one night. The total value of the stolen goods which included cigarettes, wine, fishing sets and brand name luggage was about 100,000 yuan.

Two weeks ago Jiading District police captured six members of a gang which had stolen and sold 14 sedans since September. Their profits totalled about one million yuan.

Police also warned residents against snatch and grab gangs after Minhang District police caught five men who had been involved in eight cases snatching jewelry worth more than 30,000 yuan since May. The gang hunted for victims after snatching jewelry or handbags and escaped in a mini van.