Junkies who sent crime rate soaring (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Junkies who sent crime rate soaring

Police say four offenders are responsible for the majority of crime in the Cirencester area - Jason Stratford, Jonathan Fordyce, Casey Goble and Julian Denney.

Since these men were taken into custody, the amount of burglaries in and around the town has reduced dramatically, say police.

Each has a string of previous convictions, which officers say have been carried out to fund long-standing drugs habits, and the names are already well known to many local residents.

They can only be linked together now they have all been sentenced.

As national debate rages as to whether judges should send burglars to prison, two of them, Casey Goble and Jason Stratford, were last week released on two-year community rehabilitation orders.

Goble, who admitted two burglaries, including one at the home of a 74-year-old woman while she slept in her bed, asked for 20 other offences to be taken into consideration.

Stratford, who also admitted two burglaries, asked the court to consider four more offences.

Jonathan Fordyce, who admitted burglary, handling stolen goods and theft, asked for a staggering 55 other offences to be taken into consideration when he was sentenced in October. He is currently serving 18 months in prison.

Julian Denney, who admitted three burglaries and asked the court to consider nine other offences, is serving three years.

Police, who arrested them as part of a major clampdown on known burglars/drug addicts last summer, say they plan to target other offenders. Inspector Mike Jacka of Cirencester Police said: "It has long been known that a small number of offenders commit the large number of offences.

"It is also known that people need to support their drugs habits and these individuals are all evidence of that. They are concerned for their own survival, not for other people's property.

"You shouldn't expect this sort of thing in any area, but the nature of Cirencester and its residents means that it has a higher impact on people's perception of crime."

Police say that in the last four months the amount of burglaries in the area has nearly halved.

In the four months leading up to September there were 140 offences, while since then there has been 80.

Insp Jacka says the fall is directly connected to the quartet and a handful of other offenders either being locked up or held on remand awaiting sentence.

The others include Paul Baker, 33, of Dollar Street, Cirencester, who was given a 12-month drug treatment and testing order after being convicted of two burglaries and an attempted burglary, and Dean Preston, 25, of School Lane, Cirencester, who was also given a 12-month drug treatment and testing order and a one-year community rehabilitation order after admitting a burglary.

Insp Jacka added: "Since their arrests, other warrants have been executed and drugs seized. Whilst the main players, in our opinion, have been arrested, we continue to address what we believe to be a threat to the quality of people's lives in Cirencester."