[dwb]

We were awakened by the cat meowing outside our bedroom door at five to four this morning. Drat I thought as I struggled to find my footing, we didn't lock her in the kitchen last night. When I got downstairs I noticed all the doors were open - that's not normal - and there was a strange yellow glow coming from the dining room, but when I looked there was no light on. I turned around to see the front door was about a foot ajar

Oh

I hope they haven't found the car keys... but both cars were still outside, which is more than can be said for my bum bag containing wallet and office keys and my wife's handbag. All our plastic has had to be cancelled and we've got no ready cash either. Other missing items include my wife's laptop - and all her photos - which means no Blog on our day trip to Arosa and few photos of the Bernina Express, her Fuji camera and her mobile phone. It looks like my camera was too chunky or being black was missed in the dark. Ditto for my big box PC. Apart from a few quid and our driving licenses., nothing else appears to have been taken.

No damage was done except to our photo memories and psyches. I think we'll be able to sleep tonight because we will do what we should have done and double lock the front door. It seems the most likely mode of entry was a device through the letter box to press down on the door handle....

So I pass on these lessons:-

1) Make sure your front door cannot be opened via the letter box either by double locking it or making it physically impossible
2) Back up your photo collections onto DVDs or whatever. My wife's back up memory stick was in her handbag

3) Don't rely on spaniels for protection - little so and so's didn't so much as whimper although one is pretty much deaf, so maybe he's excused
4) Get a cat which doesn't like draughts or a big hungry dog

David

 

[madon37s]

Sorry to hear about your woes David

In my opinion those B....... should be strung up by there B....!!

I hope you get your stuff back mate.

Kind regards

Paul

 

[dwb]

QUOTE I hope you get your stuff back mate.

Thanks for the thought. From a phone call about five minutes ago it seems my wife might get her hand bag back. Quite how much is in it is another matter but maybe the backup memory stick.

We had a forensics officer round and she'd like everyone to know that it is possible to tell from the outside whether or not the dead locking on our design of door is on or not. So if you have a door locking mechanism which pulls up to engage bolts in the opening side of the door before you can apply the dead lock either make sure there is an obstruction between letter box and door handle or lock the double lock.

David

 

[80class]

Sorry to hear this David, at least it seems that things could have been so much worse. Had you woken up and confronted them you never know what might have happened. Money can be easily replaced hopefully with the insurance, so just the photos and the nerve damage to worry about!

I hope the memory stick turns up!

Rob

 

[MrBemo]

Bastards

 

[goedel]

Hello David

I'm sorry to hear this, but I'm glad that you've taken such a positive attitude and are providing security tips for others. It's all too easy to just rant and rave about this sort of thing (I would have done if it had happened to me...) and be miserable. I hope that your life can return to normal as soon as possible and as much of what you are missing eventually finds its way back to you.

With a global population of 6.5 billion at present I don't think that anyone would mourn the extermination of 50 million criminals around the world. (My first policy upon election as world president..

...oh and I might include people who park their cars completely on the pavement too...

)

 

[neil_s_wood]

Very sorry to hear about your burglary David. We had a spate of burglaries round our area recently. It was kids who were doing them and the purpose was to cause as much malicious damage as possible. They actually burnt a budgie alive with lighter fuel in one house! In many ways I'd prefer to get replaceable stuff stolen rather than having my pets tortured and bed urinated on. I've been very security concious since then.

 

[ebaykal]

David, sorry to hear it. Hope everything was insured and those ^%&/ caught.

I am afraid we will see a lot of this going on globally this year being the tough times we are in so everyone should take precautions.

Look at it from the bright side, the trains are ok aren't they?

Baykal

 

[Doug]

Sorry to hear about the robbery. It must be infuriating to think of some stranger going through your things.

I don't proclaim to have the best security, but we have a special lock that can't be jimmied - you need one of 3 keys to get in. We have a dog and he would wake us up if anyone came in - he's not vicious, but very protective of the house. We don't put an alarm on when we're in, but when we leave we put it on just in case. It dials my mobile if there is an intrusion - the siren is indoors, designed to scare any potential robber out. I believe there is no point in putting them outside as the neighbours just ignore them anyway.

Regarding memories - we'll you'll just have to do the trip again!

 

[34C]

It is unpleasant and deeply annoying. The only real recourse we have privately is to be careful in using security systems, and methodical about eliminating weaknesses. Fortunately our practical skills (honed by railway modelling) enable us to do simple stuff which helps with security. A strong baffle box secured inside the door over the letterbox slot won't impede the letters, but makes the route to anything inside much more difficult for example.

Something I heard from a police officer years ago which I thought rather interesting, is that purchasing security related gear from a business a long way from point of use, is more effective than the purchase of an equivalently effective system from a local company. Most crime is opportunistic and 'short range'. A company trading in an area builds up know how about its' systems among those who want to defeat or circumvent them. But if a 'foreign' system is installed it is likely a one off, and simply by being an 'unknown quantity' tends to put off the opportunistic contingent who are much the majority among the dishonest.

 

[madon37s]

QUOTE (ebaykal @ 10 Mar 2009, 07:29) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I am afraid we will see a lot of this going on globally this year being the tough times we are in

This still doesn't give these B..t.... any right to do it though does it!!!

Cut there hands off I say! We as a nation are far too weak!

Kind regards

Paul

 

[FUNGUS]

Very sorry to hear youve been done. As to getting a big hungry dog, well weve got a great dane/lab cross who likes to bark at the cats but seems to think prowlers in the garden are allowed?
I had some gear stolen from our garden a couple of months so Ive fitted CCTV (SWANN) and increased the lighting. Youll never stop crime but it gives me great reassurance to know Ive got the right toe rag before the boot goes in!
Steve

 

[Purley Oaks]

This is awful - I'm really sorry to hear about your burglary. On a slightly positive note it is usually just a tiny number of persistent offenders who do this - but not really any use to know unless & until they're found.
mal

 

[egg and chips]

I`ve put a brass blank plate over my letter box and have a mail box mounted on the front wall , secondly a neighbour of mine used to have a dog - when they went out they would leave the light on as it was afraid of the dark !

 

[frame69]

We as a nation are far too weak!
I agree with Paul on this issue,I think we are turning into a nation of wimps and should put our foot down a bit more.The area I live in is pretty low for these sort of crimes,its a good thing really as concrete is cheap and the harbour is only seconds away!! I certainly don't enjoy violence but I would have a few minutes of fun if I ever came across a burglary in progress.

I've been involved with the prison system and can tell you first hand that its'rubbish' and does not act as the deterent it should be.
your's angrily,Andy,Padstow

 

[7113]

My sympathies David, although I have never been burgled, I did have my beloved XR3 stolen from outside my home while I was in. I was lucky I got it back minus a few windows and other parts.

It's a horrible feeling.

Regards

 

[dwb]

Thanks for all the support; it is appreciated.

We had a visit from a police officer this morning who took a statement and a list of the items stolen. It looks like my bum bag has already been recovered from a nearby street and from the contents description it sounds like all I've lost is a £20 note and about £5 in change. My old style driving license and all my plastic was still intact as were the office keys. It seems like the thief was after cash or easily traded items and not much else.

Unfortunately as it was my bag found and not my wife's, it means she's not likely to get her memory stick back before a deadline of producing some of the data from it, so she's got a busy couple of nights ahead of her replacing it.

A couple of other useful pieces of information I can pass on

I realised during the interview this morning that my wireless home hub has a record of the MAC address of my wife's laptop. Apart from disabling it from accessing the hub, I was able to provide it as part of my statement so that if the laptop turns up, it can be identified. It takes a certain amount of effort to retrieve a laptop.

We did not record the IMEI number of my wife's phone. This is unique to the hardware and independent of the phone number or SIM. You can get the IMEI of your phone by entering *#06# on the keyboard. The number that is returned is the IMEI. Write this down somewhere safe. There's got to be some benefit from writing mobile phone software

No trains were taken, touched or damage in the raid. My partially completed LNWR signal box is still sitting on top of this PC monitor (it's a CRT). I'm suddenly going to have a lot more time to spend on my hobby as this PC will be required for my wife's catch up.

Once again, thanks for the thoughts.

David

 

[goedel]

That's just the worst thing though, all that disruption and damage they were quite willing to cause just to get £25 in cash and a £20 memory stick etc...

We fairly recently had a break in at work: they smashed a window, wrenched a security screen half open - and then stole a LCD screen with the cable cut off as they couldn't get in to unplug it or steal anything else. £500+ damage and increased insurance premiums no doubt for a half-useless screen to flog round the back of a pub for £50 if they were lucky. It really does make you want to catch them at it when returning home from a game of golf preferably still holding a nine iron! (not that I play...) Or better still to run them down on the drive...

 

[shedmad66]

QUOTE (madon37s @ 9 Mar 2009, 21:07) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Sorry to hear about your woes David

In my opinion those B....... should be strung up by there B....!!

I hope you get your stuff back mate.

Kind regards

Paul

I agree

 

[dwb]

We had a phone call from our son in London yesterday evening. He got home from work to find his flat door had been broken in. Same loss - girlfriend's laptop and digital camera. We're waiting to hear what else.

David