€10.7m cash and jewellery stolen from homes in just six months

More than €10m worth of jewellery and cash was stolen from homes in the last six months of 2013, the Garda have revealed.

Research carried out by the Garda Síochána analysis service found almost one third of burglaries occur between 5pm and 8pm, with jewellery and cash still the most sought-after items. Burglars mainly break into houses through a rear window (28%), front door (27%), and rear door (25%).

Sgt Kelvin Courtney of the National Crime Prevention Unit warned that although the latest CSO figures show a 8.9% fall in the level of burglary and related offences between June 2012 and June 2013 compared with the previous 12 months, people should remain vigilant and security-conscious.

“Burglars will tend to go for what they view as easy targets — houses with no lights on, no alarm, or unsecured doors and windows. It is critical for householders to secure doors and windows, light up their homes even when out, and have an alarm and turn it on even when at home,” he said.

Garda also advise people to ensure that valuables are out of sight and large amounts of cash are not kept in the house, as jewellery and cash accounted for 75% of the property stolen in burglaries in the last six months of 2013, with a value of approximately €10.7m.

In winter, up to 20% of burglaries occur during twilight hours when homes can look unoccupied. In summer, they are more likely to take place through unsecured doors and windows.

Gardaí also advise people that ‘fishing’, which sees burglars place implements such as adapted fishing rods through letterboxes to ‘fish’ car and house keys from hall tables, can result in houses being easily entered or cars being stolen from outside the house. There were more than 100 cases where car keys were ‘fished’ through letterboxes between July and December last year. The force recommends people take the following steps to reduce the chances of their home being burgled:

-Secure all doors and windows.

-Light up your home and use timer switches on lights for when you are out.

-Store keys safely and away from windows and letterboxes.

-Record details of valuables and don’t keep large cash amounts at home.

-Use your alarm, even when you are at home.