by Lynn Cox

lcox@thekmgroup.co.uk

A burglar who committed a string of break-ins across Medway, has been jailed for four years.

Simon James Boswell, who has no fixed address, pleaded guilty to a burglary at a home Glencoe Road, Chatham in January of this year.

A further 18 similar offences were also taken into consideration.

The offences happened mainly in the Luton area and the Darnley Road area of Strood.

Boswell targeted houses which had open windows or insecure front and rear doors.

Boswell, 27, was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court, on Friday, May 15.

Detective Constable Tom Daveney said: "Following this conviction, we have been successful in taking a prolific offender off of the streets of Medway.

"Repeat offenders such as Boswell can make people’s life a misery and we are satisfied he will be spending a significant amount of time in prison.

"I would urge people to try to prevent themselves from becoming the victim of a burglary by making sure that windows and doors are locked in the evenings and no valuable items are left on display.

"Opportunist burglars such as Boswell will steal handbags, wallets, money and any small electrical items that they can hide on themselves.

"This conviction proves police in Medway are extremely effective in tackling burglaries and people should think twice before committing offences such as this."

Boswell was convicted after police stepped up night patrols in both areas following a number of offences. He was identified leaving the home on Glencoe Road, Chatham, and was eventually arrested on Friday, February 13 and charged with the offence the next day.

While on remand, he admitted a further 18 offences.

All of the burglaries taken into consideration happened between December 24 2008 and February 11, 2009.

Detective Inspector Kevin Downard added: "This conviction comes at a time when burglary levels in Medway continue to fall.

"The area has some of the lowest levels of burglary in the country and already this financial year figures are 29.8 per cent lower than at the same time last year.

"That means there are on average fewer than two burglaries a day in Medway, which is a great achievement in an area with over 113,000 homes.

"Residents can be confident that we take these offences extremely seriously and are very good at bringing offenders such as Boswell to justice."