A 36-year-old man has been jailed for 5 years and 4 months after being charged with 25 burglary offences in Suffolk and Norfolk.

Frank Benet, of no fixed abode, appeared before before King’s Lynn Crown Court today, Tuesday 25 September where he was convicted of burglary offences carried out across Suffolk and Norfolk.

Benet was arrested on 8 June 2018 and subsequently charged with burglary at a property on Newland Close in Lowestoft in March, in which a Nissan Qashqai vehicle, three televisions, two tablets, a laptop and watches were stolen. He was also charged with three other burglaries that took place in May. One was on Aldeburgh Road in Leiston, a second on School Lane in Heckingham, Norfolk and a third at a property on Burstall Lane in Sproughton.

Between his arrest and his sentencing, Benet chose to work with officers from Suffolk Police’s Operation Converter team and went on to admit 21 further burglary offences, 16 in Suffolk and five in Norfolk. The majority of offences took place between March and June 2018 although one offence dated back to December 2011.

DC Duncan Etchells said: “House burglary is an intrusive crime that can have devastating effects on the victims. We are determined to continue to bring those who are responsible for this type of crime to justice. The message to burglars is simple; if we have information that you are burgling people’s homes, we will use all powers and tactics available to us to arrest you and ensure the Courts deal with you appropriately.”

Operation Converter is an initiative aimed at encouraging offenders to admit their crimes. This has benefits for all – police are able to give victims some peace of mind that an offender has been caught for the burglary of their home or the theft of their property and the individual has the opportunity to clear their slate so they can have a fresh start when they are released from prison, without the possibility they will later be traced for a further offence. Offenders have to give sufficient detail for officers to be sure they have committed the crime and these offences are then ‘taken into consideration’ at sentencing. The judge will look at all the offences before determining the sentence.