Burglars net €700m of goods in last decade

ABOUT €700 million worth of goods have been stolen from houses over the past decade, with burglary rates increasing by 8.25% over the past year, according to the latest annual Eircom Phonewatch burglary report.

According to the report, since 2000, hundreds of millions of euro in cash, electrical equipment, appliances and furniture have been illegally taken from houses.

The figures, which are based on the telephone firm’s alarm system and supported by CSO figures, have confirmed 26,545 burglaries took place between June 2009 and June 2010. This is the equivalent of 73 robberies every day, up 8.25% on the previous year.