‘Brazen’ burglar jailed for over four years

A man described as ‘brazen’ has been jailed for over four years following a series of burglaries in Ipswich.

35 year old Billy Swaley Smith of Tawneys Ride in Bures was jailed for four years and seven months yesterday (Tue 17 January) after he pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court.

He was arrested on 18 August last year in Ipswich and subsequently charged with three offences – a burglary on Chevlier Street in Ipswich where various items were stolen including an X-box, one on Rushmere Road where jewellery, a £1000 in cash were stolen and a third in Bixley Road in Ipswich where £800 was stolen.

Following this charge and his guilty plea, Swaley Smith chose to work with the Operation Converter team and had a further 21 other offences of burglary and attempted burglary taken into consideration. These took place during May, June, July and August last year across the county including addresses in Ipswich, Long Melford, Little Cornard and Bures. During the burglaries various items were stolen including an Amazon kindle device, jewellery, power tools and golf clubs.

In one case at a property in Long Melford a large amount of bronze statues were taken, valued at around £10,000, while in another a small off-road Honda motorbike was taken and in another a trailer was used to transport items of gardening equipment and mechanic tools were taken.

DI Richard Prouse said: “Swaley Smith was a prolific burglar who preyed on residential properties and his actions caused widespread misery, distress and upset for his victims. He will now have plenty of time in jail to reflect on his brazen and callous criminal behaviour where he showed little or no regard for his victims. We know burglary can have a devastating effect on the victims and the prevention of burglary, and the conviction of burglars continues to be a priority for the constabulary.

DC Barry Simpson of the Op Converter team said: "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.