TRACKING devices will be used to catch thieves raiding sheds and garages in the East Riding.
Trackers will be fitted to items from bikes to garden equipment in a number of sheds and garages.
Smart water – a liquid that can be painted on to objects and is only visible under an ultraviolet light – will also be used.
Chief Superintendent Judi Heaton said: "The message to offenders is we will be putting out traps – we are going to be putting trackers on property in sheds and garages.
"We will be doing it in rural and urban areas, offenders won't know where they're going to be."
Chief Supt Heaton said the summer heat wave has triggered a crime spree by opportunist thieves sneaking into insecure property.
She warned people could be charged for handling offences if they buy stolen items from anyone selling door-to-door or in pubs.
Car boot sales will also be checked for stolen property being sold on as police look to shut down the market for stolen goods.
Chief Supt Heaton said: "What I am trying to do is stop the market for people selling stolen goods, I'm trying to prevent the market from growing. If someone is offering you things in the pub, or outside the usual retail environment, beware because we will be arresting and prosecuting people for handling stolen goods and we will be letting the press know.
"If you are offered a bike, a mobile phone, cheese, meat or cosmetics, the chances are it's nicked and you should not be buying it because all you are doing is peddling crime."
Crime has been falling year on year for the past ten years in the East Riding so police are determined to crack down on the recent surge in opportunist thefts.
Burglary from property including sheds and garages shot up to 742 cases between January to June, compared to 600 offences in the same period last year.
The recent heat wave has seen another upsurge in offences and police are warning residents to keep their property secure.
Officers will be waking up householders at night to alert them if they have left windows open.
Chief Supt Heaton said: "We will knock on people's doors and alert people to their vulnerabilities at night if their property is insecure.
"Because it's warm, people are a little bit more relaxed and they're leaving windows open day and night.
"People are in holiday mode and that's great, but just turn the key in your lock when you go around the back of the house and shut your windows if someone could climb through.
"It's all opportunist stuff for the burglar. Look at your house from a burglar's perspective and think about it.
"This sort of crime always goes up in July and August, it's a national trend."
Forty per cent of domestic burglaries and 35 per cent of vehicle crime is the result of unsecured property or valuable items being left on view in vehicles.
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