A burglar who got inside a sheltered housing complex in Erdington and stole a resident’s purse has been jailed for more than four years, after we tracked him down within days.
The break-in was reported to us at around midday on Saturday 3 December and the bank card in the victim’s purse had already been used three times.
Our neighbourhood officers retrieved CCTV from the stores where it had been used and one of our eagle-eyed Police Community Support Officers recognised and identified Patrick Gallon.
We issued a warrant for his arrest and on 15 December Gallon handed himself in at a police station.
Gallon, aged 40, of Slade Road, Birmingham, who admitted burglary and three counts of fraud by false representation, was sentenced to four years and six months at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (27 Jan).
Sergeant Frances Clark, from the Sutton and Erdington neighbourhood policing team, said: “Our officers are dealing with issues that matter to our residents every day and we know that burglary is a concern for many people.
“The local knowledge that our neighbourhood teams build up is invaluable and in this case it meant we were able to swiftly track down the offender and he is now behind bars.”