A SENIOR Harlow police officer has made a bold pledge to all those who burgle houses in Harlow.

Superintendent Tim Tubbs said:

“My message is really clear to anyone thinking of committing this horrendous crime; we will catch you and we will do everything we can to bring you before the courts.”

The press release from Essex Police is below.

We applaud the Superintendent’s ambition but before you read their press release, we thought we would signpost what the solve rates are at the moment.

Between February 2024 and February 2025, there were 224 dwelling burglaries in Harlow. Nineteen of them have been marked as solved. Or more to the point that is 205 unsolved.

Between February 2023 and February 2024, there were 379 dwelling burglaries in Harlow. Sixteen of those have been marked as solved. Or more to the point, that is 363 unsolved.

We plan to follow these solve rates throughout the year. We do hope they plummet.

From Essex Police

Home burglary is down more than 22% in Essex – the equivalent of 850 fewer victims – as our commitment to neighbourhood policing and bringing offenders to justice continues.

Superintendent Tim Tubbs, the force’s strategic lead for burglary, says: “Teams across the county have a relentless focus on tackling this crime.

“Collaborative working with our partners ensures crime prevention is shared with some of the most vulnerable people, helping them take steps to protect their homes.

“We know just how devastating a crime it can be, and our locally based investigators are committed to supporting victims and bringing criminals to justice.”

In March we made more than 350 arrests in connection with ongoing burglary investigations, some offenders were connected with up to 10 different offences.

And we are solving more offences, 273 in the last 12 months, up by 66 (3.9%) on this time last year.
Our focus is on preventing burglaries, targeting repeat offenders and organised crime groups and solving as many burglaries as we can.

Like all forces, we are committed to sending officers to every home burglary that’s reported to us.
Over the past year, we have attended 99% of the burglaries that were in progress or had just happened.

Supt Tubbs continues: “We have neighbourhood patrols and investigations carried out by local officers, we work closely with our Roads Policing Unit to disrupt and arrest criminals who use vehicles to get around.

“We are also more closely scrutinising our burglary investigations to hold ourselves to account and ensure we are getting justice for people who have been burgled.

“Our neighbourhood policing teams continue to be trained to provide the most up-to-date burglary prevention advice, supporting communities and deterring criminals.

“We are putting the people who have been burgled at the heart of everything we do around this.

“My message is really clear to anyone thinking of committing this horrendous crime; we will catch you and we will do everything we can to bring you before the courts.”

Learn more about the ways you can keep burglars out of your property by heading to our crime prevention page on Essex Police website.