Man sentenced for Ipswich burglaries

A man has been jailed in connection with a series of burglaries in Ipswich.

Ali Omar, aged 48 and of Skelton Road in Diss was sentenced to six years in jail at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 26 May.

Omar was charged on 26 March this year with one burglary that took place on Sproughton Road in Ipswich on 14 March where jewellery was stolen.

Following this charge and his guilty plea Omar chose to work with the Operation Converter team and had a further seven burglaries from dwellings in the Ipswich area, one cases of burglary with intent, and one attempted burglary that all took place during March 2023 taken into consideration. 

Amongst them was one where a fit-bit and cash were taken from a property on Woodbridge Road and another on Westerfield Road in the town where around £12,500 worth of goods were stolen including games consoles and jewellery. 

A further burglary at a business premises took place on 25 March 2023 at the East Anglian Children’s Hospice charity shop in Diss where £240 in cash was stolen.

DC Mathew Northfield from Ipswich CID who investigated the series of burglaries said: “Omar was a prolific burglar who preyed on residential properties and his actions caused misery, distress and upset for his victims. Whilst he was on remand he made the admissions to the others and we hope the fact we have secured this conviction will give some closure to those victims he targeted. The Op Converter process will allow him to be released from prison at the end of his sentence with a clean slate and it also provides a positive outcome to his victims.”

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.