Beat burglars by planting shrubs, Met Police tells homeowners

Telegraph

15-03-2025

The Metropolitan Police is urging homeowners to plant shrubs in their gardens to deter thieves.
The Met – which has the third-worst record for tackling burglary in Britain – has been giving out leaflets about the best 17 varieties of plant to 'create a natural defence against burglary'.
'Planting particular shrubs (in their mature or semi-mature form) along garden walls and fences can make it harder for burglars to access your property or put them off completely. To maximise this effect, plant them close to each other,' the leaflet said.
The leaflet, which contains links to the Met's website, said some of the most off-putting shrub varieties include firethorn, barberry and hawthorn – all of which are dense and have thorns.
The Met leaflet also tells homeowners to secure their homes by keeping hedges and fences over 1.8m high and 'prickly' plants.
'Add [a] lightweight trellis to gates and fences and plant some prickly plants to make it harder for burglars to climb over,' it said.
Other tips from the force include installing a gravel driveway to make it harder for thieves to break in undetected and putting in motion-detector security lights.
It also warns garden tools should not be left outside because they can be used by thieves during break-ins.
The Met's 'to-do' list for households seeking to deter burglars also includes more familiar suggestions such as using secure locks and alarm systems.
The Met has repeatedly been criticised over low burglary detection rates.
In 2022, the force committed to attending all burglaries in London but the bulk of them remain unsolved.
There were 57,611 burglaries reported to the Met last year but only 5.53 per cent of cases ended up with people being charged, according to the force's online crime dashboard.
Home Office figures showed that 82 per cent of burglaries went unsolved by the Met in the 2022-23 financial year, making them the third-worst performing force in the country after South Yorkshire (84 per cent) and Hampshire (83 per cent).
In November, the force closed a bike theft case within 24 hours even though it was stolen from outside New Scotland Yard and had AirTag tracking devices to monitor its movements and location.
Dr Lawrence Newport, a legal academic, reported the theft to the Metropolitan Police after the Carrera bicycle was stolen from a bike rack on Victoria Embankment, which is overlooked by the heavily guarded offices of New Scotland Yard and Parliament.
In a 101 call to police, he told the operator that, based on the AirTag data, he suspected it had been taken at around 1am on Nov 24 before it ended up at a residential block in Westminster that evening.
However, he received a text from police the next day saying: 'At this time the case will be closed pending evidence coming to light that will support an investigation.'
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the Met 'needs to concentrate on the basics of catching criminals and less on gardening advice'.
'The police's most basic function is catching criminals and a 5 per cent charge rate is just not good enough,' he told The Times newspaper.
'I want to see police using more effective methods such as facial recognition to catch criminals and put them where they belong, in prison. Gardening advice is not going to help do that.'
A Met spokesman said information, such as the leaflets, helps police target the most prolific offenders, which had resulted in a 10 per cent reduction in the number of burglaries reported in London last year.
'We will continue to help prevent people from becoming victims while simultaneously cracking down on burglars and organised crime groups,' the spokesman said.