By Lucy Caulkett -
West Yorkshire Police have released pictures of two suspected burglars in connection with an investigation of a burglary at a house in Leeds. The two men entered a property on Westdale Road , Pudsey on December 13 and stole electrical items worth thousands of pounds.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman today asked anyone who recognises either of the pair to come forward. He said: “Officers want to speak to them in connection with a burglary at a house on Westdale Road, Pudsey. “The incident happened at 10.45am on December 13 when suspects entered the property and stole electrical items.”
Cops have refused to give details at this stage of exactly what was stolen, for fear it might prejudice the case. The area in which a number of properties upwards of £100,000 are on sale is known for anti-social behaviour, but not so much for burglary. With the Christmas season very much in gear, many burglars pick their targets when the residents are likely to be out. In many cases, the culprits watch the house or have informant pals who give them leads on the best time to strike a particular address.
The men pictured in the CCTV image appear very suspicious and were caught on camera in the vicinity of the crime around the time it was committed. The Eye Of Media.Com have heard that the chances these two know nothing about the burglary in question are slim, but the presumption of innocence until proven guilty still stands. Burglars on a mission to rob a house can be very oblivious of cameras in the vicinity of their target property, even though a careful examination of a property with cameras nearby ought to sound alarm bells. This is not always the case. CCTV footage like this that clearly shows the suspects is not enough to secure a conviction, but diligent police investigation can often nail criminals once they are identified.
34 year old Charmain Peterside who lives nearby, told The Eye Of Media.Com : ”we don’t hear of a lot of crime around here, so burglaries like this one can be very disturbing. There are a number of troublesome youths who frequent the streets around here provoking people and sometimes stealing from shops. You sometimes see the odd chase between a shop employee or owner and a tear away teenager who has given in to a life of theft and crime, but burglaries are not a common occurrence here. I think the victim was targeted, the youths in this area openly comment about which family drives which cars, and who wears the latest watch. Christmas is a bad time for people to subject others to crime, but criminals don’t think about these things, do they”.
Police were decoy as to whether the men pictured had been in trouble with police before, in which case they should be immediately identifiable from their pictures. Most burglars are not first time offenders, but there are some who have never been caught or who take on a burglary assignment as a one off because of a tip-off. With cops circulating the CCTV footage online and to sections of the press, the men will soon be identified. Whether their identification leads to a recovery of the items stolen or evidence of their involvement or otherwise, is another matter.