Lockdown is not deterring burglars, gardaí warn

Burglars are still targeting homes and cars despite the ongoing lockdown, gardaí have warned.

And there has been a slight increase in Cork city in recent weeks in the rate of opportunistic burglaries from cars - most of which were left unlocked - by criminals out for ‘easy-pickings’.

Gardaí have now urged homeowners to follow a few simple crime prevention routines to thwart and deter these thieves, to remain vigilant especially over the bank holiday weekend, and to report any unusual or suspicious activity to their local garda station.

“We have a lot more gardaí out and about now than we have ever had,” said Detective Supt Michael Comyns, head of the Serious Crime Investigation Unit in Cork City.

Despite the fact that more people are staying at home and taking fewer journeys, burglars have not been deterred from targeting homes and cars parked outside.

One resident of a suburb west of Cork city said members of their local neighbourhood WhatsApp group have reported to gardaí the suspicious movements of a white van in and around their area near Ballincollig in recent days.

Two hooded men were later captured on a private CCTV system testing car door handles in the area.

It’s believed the criminals are ‘casing’ estates by day to identify potential targets and are returning under the cover of darkness.

They can ‘sweep’ through an estate in a matter of minutes, moving quickly from house to house, testing front and back door handles and car door handles to see if they’ve been left unlocked.

Supt Comyns said in most cases, the thieves won’t smash car or house windows to break-in - they will only target unlocked property, with mobile phones, wallets or cash the most likely items to be taken from unlocked cars.

The superintendent said homeowners can protect themselves from becoming the victims of such crime.

“It’s the simple things like checking that your front and back doors are locked, that all the windows are locked, before going to bed, and checking that the car is locked and valuables aren’t left in it overnight,” he said.

The criminals are out for easy-pickings and if people make it difficult for them, they’ll move on.

While some suburbs have been targeted in recent days, Supt Comyns said those involved in this type of crime can target any area at any time.

Two men were arrested and charged recently in connection with five burglaries on city properties between midnight and 5am one morning, which in one case involved two males gaining access to a property by pretending to be gardaí.

Supt Comyns advised people to exercise caution when answering the door to callers identifying themselves as plain-clothes gardaí.

“Plain-clothes gardaí have no reason to be calling to homes like this - it will almost always be uniformed gardaí who will produce identification. I would advise homeowners to just keep their door closed and contact their local garda station,” he said.