Burglaries up a third as €100m in goods stolen

RESIDENTIAL burglaries have jumped by a third, with an estimated €100 million worth of goods stolen from homes in the past year.

A survey found that eight out of 10 burglaries were carried out while the occupants were at home.

The Eircom PhoneWatch burglary report said the biggest increase in burglaries was outside Dublin.

The survey — conducted between June 2007 and June 2008 — found an average value of €3,996 was taken in each home burgled.

This equated to about €100m worth of stolen goods — a 16% rise on last year’s figures.

The actual number of burglaries rose by 32%, with a 36% jump outside Dublin and a 24% increase in Dublin.

The report revealed an upward trend in the number of houses being burgled while occupied, rising from 50% in 2004 to 80% last year.

The report said the statistics strongly suggested residents were not adequately securing their property while they were at home and that burglars were not deterred by people being at home.

“The figures consistently demonstrate that the vast majority of burglaries take place while the home is occupied, thus increasing the risk of confrontation and personal danger, so it is of particular importance that people become more security-aware while they are in the home,” said Nick Quigley, chief executive of Eircom PhoneWatch.

October to February recorded the highest number of burglaries, with October the worst — 11% of all incidents happened then.

The report said that while Dublin was the worst hit, the problem had increased even more in the rest of the country in the past 12 months.

The top four most-targeted counties outside Dublin were Kildare (6% of all burglaries), Cork (5%), Limerick (5%) and Meath (5%). Wexford was a new entry in the top 10 hotspots (3%).

In Dublin, the southside accounted for 55% of burglaries in the county, with the south county area the most targeted.

Maeve Ryan, coordinator of Crime Victims Helpline, said they often had to provide support to people whose homes had been burgled.

“While the theft of €100 million is a shocking statistic, the financial impact of burglary represents only one element of the effect this crime can have upon its victims. We take calls every day from people who have experienced serious emotional distress following a burglary in their home.

“Common emotional effects include anger, fear of re-occurrence, feelings of violation and loss of privacy and grief at the loss of irreplaceable items which would have been of no value to the thief.”

* Contact Crime Victims Helpline on 1850 211 407 or Eircom PhoneWatch on 1850 500 900.

Take note: The facts about burglary

* Entry through the rear of a property accounts for 45% of all burglaries — 23% through a rear door and 22% through a rear window.

* Almost 18% of burglars were able to break through the front door.

* The most targeted day of the week is Saturday (16%), followed by Friday (15%), with Sunday the least targeted (11%).

* The most likely time of the day to be burgled was between 12pm and 4pm (last year it was 12am to 4am).

* Fewer than half of households surveyed had an alarm fitted at the time of burglary.

* Semi-detached and detached homes are most hit, with apartments the least likely to be burgled.