News, Manchester
A 999 call handler has described how she heard the sound of glass shattering and a victim scream down the phone when a burglar broke into a house.
Ella, who has responded to emergencies at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for four years, took the call shortly after she started working for the force.
She said both she and the woman on the phone were “terrified”, and that she told her to barricade herself in a bedroom.
Ella told Radio Manchester: “The one thing you always listen for is the sound of sirens in the background because that’s when you know your job is done.”
GMP launched Operation Castle in July 2021, in a bid to cut the number of domestic burglaries.
At the time, GMP was in special measures after failing to record 80,000 crimes.
Det Supt Alicia Smith, the force lead for burglary at Greater Manchester Police, admitted it was a “very poor quality of service” at the time.
“Burglary is now a force priority for us and we will attend every incident to seek every opportunity to catch the suspects,” she said.
GMP said as a result of its new approach it recorded 11,246 burglaries last year, 33% fewer than three years ago.
And it arrested 2,305 people on suspicion of of the offence in 2024 – a 25% increase compared with 2021.
The force has now introduced neighbourhood crime teams to tackle burglary and Det Supt Smith said targeting known criminals could be “very effective”.
“In Trafford recently, we had a burglar who was committing offences after being released from jail and he was back behind bars within a week,” she said.
GMP also hands out crime prevention packs to people who live close to a victim, because evidence suggests that burglars often target homes on the same street.
Operation Castle also includes a commitment to send crime scene investigators (CSIs) to every report of a domestic burglary to help gather evidence.
Hayley Craig, a crime scene investigator with GMP, said: “Not long ago, I went to a burglary where the whole house had been ransacked, including the children’s bedrooms, and a large quantity of jewellery was taken.
“I found glove marks on a top-floor window and I managed to get a DNA hit, so we found out who it was.
“That’s brilliant – that’s why we do this job”.
