To beat the burglar, you must think like the burglar, warns top garda

High gates and walls, along with large trees, attract burglars rather than acting as a deterrent, Garda experts have warned.

Householders are better off having low front walls and should avoid erecting any screenings that could provide cover to criminals.

“To beat the burglar, you’ve got to think like him,” said Sgt Aidan Donnelly of the National Crime Prevention Unit, at the launch of an awareness campaign. “You should start on the perimeter, on the road like the burglar, and work your way in.”

Sgt Donnelly said high fronts to homes provided cover to burglars, while low front walls allowed people, including neighbours, to see in, deterring burglars.

Assistant Garda Commissioner John Twomey said the evenings posed a new threat during the winter months, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

“Our analysis tells us that with the darker evenings there is an increase in burglaries, particularly in the 5pm to 10pm period.

“Houses are vacant and, coming into the Christmas period, there are a lot of valuables in houses. So it is important to be vigilant.”

Figures showed 28,623 burglaries were reported to gardaí for the year to June, up 10% year-on-year.

“Burglars are opportunistic,” he said. “They will look at the house. Has it got an alarm? Are there cars in front of it? Are there people in the house? Are there lights on? Are there proper locks? If so, they will move on to another house.”

Dublin City joint policing committee chairman Gerry Breen (FG) criticised “nonsense” being uttered about the closure of Garda stations, saying Ireland had 664 stations, compared with 360 in Scotland.

* See www.garda.ie for crime prevention advice.

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