It all started with a childhood memory that haunts him to this day. Chief Supt Chris Foster was a young boy when he returned from a family holiday to find his house had been broken into.
"I remember being burglarized when I was eight years old," he recalls. "It was my parents' house in Barnsley. We had gone camping for the weekend and we had a new window frame put in at the back of the house - it had putty and glass in it and it was wooden. There was a wooden window sill that wasn't painted.
"We walked into the house and there was stuff and belongings everywhere. I distinctly remember this boot print on the windowsill. It was a signal that someone had been in the house.
"They stole my mother's engagement ring. They searched every bedroom and that night I couldn't sleep."
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The moment changed Chris's outlook and left him feeling insecure in his own home.
"I had to put a rolling pin under my bed, which gave a little comfort and protection," he said. "But to this day I remember that feeling of walking in and thinking someone was in my bedroom."
His anger at the violation is still deep-seated. And now it is this feeling that drives him to protect others in their own home.
Greater Manchester Police's top cop has helped launch an anti-burglary initiative to reduce the number of burglaries in the area. The force has launched Operation Castle.
The message behind the name is simple: "A castle should be your safe place, your home," he said. The force is focused on ensuring people's homes are kept safe.
The head suppt. says he has been tasked with implementing a "cultural change" demanded by GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson in the way burglaries are investigated and victims supported in the region.
It means more robust research, authentic empathy with victims and the use of psychology.
The results are impressive. In 2020, there were 21,875 burglaries in Greater Manchester. So far this year there have been 11,236. The launch of Operation Castle in July 2021 has led to higher detection rates and more arrests.
But it has made rank-and-file officers aware of the long-lasting impact a burglary can have on people, which has boosted the force's operation.
"There is now more attention for burglaries. We did some work with victims where they came and talked to us about how we had responded to burglaries. The impact on some of them as a result of the burglary was terrible. We saw people moving houses because they were broken into. I think that's what sex crimes are about," said Chief Foster.
"We need to make sure we do a quality investigation and file a case to charge someone and send them to court. Sentencing is outside our jurisdiction, but we can hold discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service and perhaps influence them.
"I know the chief has done that in many cases with the leadership at the CPS that we need to work better together. We're arresting a lot of people - the number arrested for burglary has skyrocketed. We have to answer, the 999 calls quickly and arrives quickly. The culture has changed. It gives victims closure when they know someone has been arrested, brought to justice and convicted."
Chief Supt Foster insists the police's idea of whether it is a burglary, how likely you are to discover it, is gone.
"How do you know unless you go out and investigate?" he said.
"The chief has said that if someone has entered your house and committed a burglary, we will investigate every case. That's the right thing to do.'
Overall burglary crime in Greater Manchester fell by 31.6% between 2021-22 and 2023-24, with 7,382 fewer crimes.
The number of burglaries in businesses and communities has fallen by 28 percent, from 5,478 in 2021-2022 to 3,942 in 2023-2024. Home burglary crime has fallen by 32.7%, with 5,846 fewer crimes recorded between October '23 and September '24 compared to October '21 - September '22.
The proportion of arrests for recorded crimes increased from 12.8 percent in 2022-23 to 14.2 percent in 2023-24. In the same period, the number of solved burglaries at businesses increased from 6.9 percent to 16.8, and the number of residential burglaries from 4.8 percent to 9.9. The turnaround is significant, considering that four years ago approximately one percent of burglaries were solved.
Chief Supt Foster said: "We are starting with preventive messaging, for example as the dark nights start to make sure people don't leave doors open and warn students returning for the new term - they often live with several other students and can be a target ."
Officers visit university campuses and organize crime prevention stalls during freshers' week.
To prevent burglaries, more messages appear around Christmas about the risk of leaving presents in homes or vehicles. Chief Supt Foster said: "We had a spike in family gold burglaries, with Asian families being targeted. We can link that to a specific time of year, traditionally wedding season - and get messages out in advance."
The force is also issuing postcode-specific warnings and advice to areas experiencing a surge in burglaries.
GMP has also adapted the 'nudge theory' first applied at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. "The airport has spent thousands of pounds cleaning the floors of the men's urinals and thinking about how we can reduce costs and target men more accurately. So they got the transfer of a fly in the bottom of the urinal - so typically men aimed at it and it became a more accurate shot. It greatly reduced their cleaning costs.
"We then spoke to Jason Roach, a professor at Huddersfield University, and worked with him on how nudge theory can be used to convince someone to do something rather than telling them they are doing something wrong. Instead of blaming the victim, we needed a way to convince people to do something different.
"So, for example, with the student issue, instead of walking around saying, 'You're rubbish, you live with six of us, you leave your doors open and you don't know who's coming in or going out.' If there is a burglary, you ask: 'Do you close the door when you go out, do you make sure it is locked?' A little nuance in the approach of nudging people rather than blaming the victim is better."
He added: "There is repeat or near repeat victimization where people are more likely to be burglarized six to eight weeks after being burglarized. You would think that the burglar would stay away because there may be a larger presence there. But it's not like there's a burglary going on. for optimal foraging theory, the burglars know the area, they know where they are going, they know it is a weak spot and what they will get if they break in. Also, if you live near someone who has been burglarized, you are more likely to have been burglarized."
Officers sent to the aftermath of burglaries will now receive an investigation-based package. "A lot of the things we did were well-intentioned, but a blanket approach to it. We had to be a little more sophisticated to improve the service for our victims."
The packages contain information about door-to-door investigations - a boost for the officer - to knock on doors looking for witnesses and camera surveillance. The victim completes a home security checklist, which gives him a score that helps identify weaknesses in the defense of his property. There is also a leaflet with burglary investigation standards that officers must adhere to.
A PCSO visits a few days after a burglary. "We do something called cocooning: see what else we can do for the victim and the neighbors. For example, can we help replace doors and windows if it concerns a building owned by the municipality or a housing association? If that if not, we can provide kit such as window alarms and timers to turn on the lights. But there needs to be sophistication in this - we would ask if the downstairs light comes on every evening if you are away for two weeks, or if it is at 3. turns on in the bathroom at night and then turns off after a minute - it has to be subtle to give the impression that someone is in the building."
Hotspot patrolling now means officers return to an area where a property has been broken into weeks later to ensure neighbors are aware of a possible second attack by criminals.
You can contact Greater Manchester Police via gmp.police.uk or 101. In an emergency you can always call 999. Information about crime can also be shared anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
