Asian families warned to be vigilant after series of 'targeted' burglaries in Berkshire

  • ITV Meridian's Mel Boor has been speaking to burglary victims

Asian families are being warned to be vigilant after a series of what's believed to be targeted burglaries in Reading, Earley and Wokingham.

One victim says her daughter can't sleep at night after their home was ransacked by thieves looking for gold jewellery.

Kajal Mathur's house was burgled on January 22, on the day of her wedding anniversary.

She's now started a petition calling for increased police patrols and a proactive approach to catching offenders.

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  • Kajal Mathur is calling for tougher jail sentences for burglars

Mrs Mathur believes a recent spate of burglaries in the area follow the same pattern and tend to take place at around 6.30pm. Only gold jewellery and cash is taken and other valuables, such as electronic gadgets, are left behind.

'Asian gold' can be a particular target as it tends to be higher quality. It is often bought as wedding gifts and passed down through generations in families.

Mrs Mathur said: "If someone is hurting you because of your ethnicity or because of your social habits and culture, that shouldn't be acceptable.

"We need a law where selling gold should not be such an easy job, where anyone can go and sell gold without showing the ownership of it. Gold dealers should keep detailed records of metal received."

'Asian gold' can have great cultural and sentimental value

Detective Sergeant Marc Boyd, of the Bracknell and Wokingham Priority Crime Team, said: “We are aware of the increase in the number of family gold thefts in the last few months. We have increased patrols in the area using marked and unmarked police cars and are working tirelessly to catch the perpetrators.  

 “We are holding a public conference in the coming weeks to speak with the communities affected by these burglaries. More information will be shared on social media in due course.

 “In order to prevent your home from being burgled do not keep high value jewellery at home, invest in internal or external CCTV, join your local neighbourhood watch and ensure that side gates, windows and doors are closed and double locked if you are leaving your property and at night.”

Further crime prevention advance can be found on Thames Valley Police's website here.

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