Burglaries increased in most parts of the country in 2009 – the south Dublin area has gradually become Ireland's burglary blackspot and the increase shows no sign of slowing, writes CONOR LALLYCrime Correspondent
PAULA’S HEART SANK long before her husband had even turned the key in the hall door. As she and Mike drove into their housing estate in south Dublin on a summer’s evening they noticed the blinds in one of the bedrooms had been pulled down and two upstairs lights had been turned on.
To their horror, somebody had been in their house since they had left home that Sunday morning for a family day out in the city centre.
“Mike told me to wait in the car outside with the two kids while he went in to check if somebody was still there; it was just horrific,” Paula said.
“They’d ransacked the upstairs bedrooms and there was a lot of stuff missing; a very expensive mobile phone, a lot of my jewellery, an electric guitar and cash. We reckoned it was all worth around €8,000.” But it was downstairs in the three-bed semi that the full horror had unfolded. Not content with breaking the kitchen window and kicking the back door in, the burglars had trashed the kitchen and livingroom.
“They emptied all the presses and fridge; all the crockery, cutlery and every single bit of food was thrown all over the place. They’d done the same with the cooking oil and a tin of paint from under the stairs. The carpets and even the sofas were completely destroyed.”
The intruders were never caught and none of the stolen items was ever recovered. While initially “devastated” by the break-in, Paula says she very quickly recovered and doesn’t feel unsafe alone in her home. “But when I go out, I dread coming home. I often ring the home phone when I’m out, because when we were broken into they ripped the phone off the wall. At least when it rings I know the phone is working. It sounds crazy, but it puts my mind at ease.”
If the latest burglary trends continue, it seems Paula and Mike’s experience will be visited upon more and more homeowners in the months ahead.
A new breakdown of burglary patterns across the country compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveals break-ins have increased significantly since the recession began to bite.
Burglaries increased in 20 of the 28 Garda divisions across the country in 2009. The increases were as high as 37 per cent in some divisions in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period in 2008.
The Garda’s Dublin south division is the burglary blackspot of the country, with 1,278 offences there in the first nine months of 2009, an increase of 12 per cent. Nationally, burglaries increased by 9 per cent during the period.
The biggest increases were recorded in the Cavan-Monaghan and Kilkenny-Carlow divisions; both up 37 per cent. In the divisions of Donegal, Kildare, Tipperary and Waterford, the percentage increase was more than 20 per cent.
Research by Eircom PhoneWatch, which provides monitored alarm services for 80,000 clients, estimates that, on average, items valued at €3,000 are stolen during a burglary.
The research suggests the total value of property stolen from homes was €72 million in the 12 months to the end of last June. Jewellery, which can easily be sold on, was the most popular item and was taken in one-third of all cases.
This was followed by cash, in 23 per cent of cases, and electrical goods, which are taken in 22 per cent of burglaries.
Eircom’s research shows that November is the worst month for break-ins, with the hours of Sunday afternoons between noon and 4pm most popular, accounting for one-quarter of all cases. A property is least likely to be burgled between the hours of 4am and 8am.
Thieves favour winter months when they can operate under cover of darkness. Fewest burglaries take place in July and August.
Some 80 per cent of burglaries occur when the occupants are at home and in 22 per cent of cases thieves enter through the front door. Three-bed semis are most popular with criminals, and are targeted in 27 per cent of all cases. Apartment dwellers are safest; they account for just 2 per cent of burglary victims.
Brian Hayes, the chief operating officer of Eircom PhoneWatch, says while the new CSO figures indicate an increase in burglaries, that trend would have to be maintained for a number of months before it could be classified as “long term”.
The current cold spell would probably result in a short-term drop in burglaries because homes were more likely to be occupied as people ventured out less.
On a possible link between increasing burglaries and the recession, Hayes says “There might be a pressure to supplement incomes [via burglaries] that wasn’t there before”.
Many customers surveyed by Eircom PhoneWatch certainly believed the recession would lead to increased property crime, with a growing number now opting for CCTV in their homes.
SUPT KARL HELLERof the Garda's National Crime Prevention Unit says while there is no definitive data linking increased burglaries and the recession, break-ins are increasing in Ireland and the UK. "To an extent, that speaks for itself," he says.
The Community Policing scheme was relaunched last year and community gardaí are currently in the middle of a nationwide awareness programme to do with crime prevention. Gardaí use forums such as Community Alert, Neighbourhood Watch and Joint Policing Committees to meet local people and elected representatives to identify emerging crime trends such as burglaries.
Supt Heller says homeowners needed to keep car keys out of sight to prevent burglars driving off in the family car. People should remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to gardaí who say, anecdotally, that calls from the public have undoubtedly helped prevent large numbers of burglaries.
Homeowners need to take basic safety precautions especially when leaving home on quick shopping trips or school runs in the afternoon, when 60 per cent of break-ins occur.
“Some 25 per cent of cases arise from unlocked doors and windows. So we’re constantly encouraging people to take those basic precautions and lock up. If people did that we could get burglaries down by 25 per cent. That would be a great result.”
