BOLZANO. During holiday periods, such as the current one, which traditionally include a large part of the annual tourist movement, residences are generally left unattended, even for long periods, to go on holiday to resorts, thus becoming easy prey for ill-intentioned people.
Even in the Province of Bolzano, in recent weeks, the police have had to intervene to foil attempted thefts in progress or, in some cases, even to ascertain their completion, starting both investigative and scientific police investigations in order to be able to reach the perpetrators of these crimes.
80% of home burglaries occur after the front door has been forced open.
The systems most used by thieves
LOCK PICKING opening locks using paper clips. A rather complex method to master, if the thief is skilled enough he can open the door without leaving any sign of forced entry.
KEY BUMPING Each brand and type of lock with a European cylinder has its own “bumping key”: a key that, once inserted into the cylinder, can open any door of a certain type. All you need is a hammer. It leaves no marks.
BULGARIAN KEYS allows you to reconstruct the profile of the key of a “double-bit” lock without having the original key and without dismantling the lock of the armored door. Bulgarian lock picks do not leave signs of forced entry, they adapt extremely easily to the locks but they are not infallible: there are new-concept double-bit locks equipped with countermeasures, capable of resisting attacks by thieves.
INVISIBLE GLUE THREADS The criminals fix thin glue threads on the doors, then they return to the place and if they find them intact they are sure that the apartment is uninhabited. The technique can be recognized by small drops of glue that remain on the edges of the door, in addition to the relative threads.
PLASTIC PLATES Does not leave any signs of forced entry. In this case, burglars use a flexible plate (for example, a credit card): by letting it pass through the gap between the door and the jamb, the thief aims for the body of the lock. A few precise and targeted movements to leverage the plate and push the body back in: this way the door opens easily, but only if the homeowner has forgotten to lock it.
LITTLE HOLE TECHNIQUE sometimes thieves burgle apartments at night with the owners sleeping inside, making a small hole in the wood of the frame (entrance door or window, it makes no difference) at the height of the handle. Then they insert a tool with which they can move the lock by rotating it to activate the opening mechanism. In this way, using easily available carpenter’s tools, they enter the house without having to break the window or door and without making any noise. The owners notice the theft the next morning, when they wake up. In this case, to defend yourself it is advisable to equip yourself with bars and external and internal alarm systems equipped with sensors that detect movement.
MAGNET allows thieves to turn the key inside the lock or drop it to the ground. Using a very powerful professional magnet, burglars from the outside are able to attract the key which, being made of metal, is easily captured. At this point, the criminals have two options: on the one hand, they can rotate the magnet (to which the key is attached) until it turns inside the lock, which consequently opens; on the other hand, using the repulsive force of the magnet, they can direct it in the opposite direction and therefore drop the key.
In this regard, therefore, the State Police, which operates in the sector of general prevention and public safety, deems it appropriate to reiterate some precautions to follow, even simple ones, which can guarantee greater peace of mind to citizens and safety to homes; naturally, these precautions to make apartments safer also apply in cases of daily absences for a few hours, due to work, family or leisure commitments.
When leaving the house, always use the double lock to close the entrance door of the house. In fact, the simple latch lock is easily bypassed, all you need is a piece of semi-rigid plastic, a credit card or similar objects to trigger the lock block and, consequently, gain access to the apartment;
Always check that the doors of the condominium or building are also closed, since free access to the condominium stairways could encourage intruders to carry out an inspection with the aim of committing thefts;
Doors and windows can be made more secure by equipping oneself with an armored door and not limiting oneself to improving an old door, which in any case does not have the structure to withstand attempted break-ins. A door with a peephole is preferable. Locks must also be periodically updated, given that criminals have known about the models on the market for a few years and are unfortunately able to study and apply systems to violate them. A recent model has fewer possibilities of violation, precisely because it is less known;
The same can be said for windows or French windows: the materials they are made of do not allow for heavy structural reinforcements. However, there are systems with safety locks, which make it more difficult to introduce levers and force the handles. If the house is on the ground floor, mezzanine or lower floors in general, or if it is an isolated building, it may be useful to install metal grates;
In case of presence of the alarm system, it is always necessary to remember to activate it. Furthermore, it should be remembered that there is the possibility of connecting it directly to the Operations Centers of the Police Forces, with a simple request;
There are electronic devices available on the market that allow the timing of lighting systems, which can also be controlled remotely via mobile phone. In fact, turning on the lights inside the house, in different rooms and at different times, makes one think that the house is regularly occupied;
Similar control devices can be connected to an internal camera system and thus, even in the event of absence, any intrusion by third parties can be monitored and video recorded;
If your house keys are lost or stolen, in addition to immediately reporting the incident to the Police, you should notify a neighbor for temporary surveillance. It is also very important to replace the locks quickly. It may be useful to leave a copy of your house keys with a trusted neighbor or relative, for periodic checks or any needs;
House keys should never be left in the car, as vehicles do not have sufficient passive protection and it would be too easy to steal them or make a duplicate without the owner’s knowledge. Another precaution is not to put labels on the keys that indicate the address or name, as this would make it easier to locate the home;
Outside of the family environment and very close friends, it should never be declared if there are valuables or safes in the house. However, it is preferable not to keep large sums of money, many jewels or valuables in the house; in the event of a prolonged absence, it is better to deposit them in safe places, such as a safety deposit box in the Bank;
It may be useful to keep, in a different place, an updated inventory of documents (identification, ownership, etc.) and goods, specifying the most valuable objects or those most sought after by thieves;
For particularly valuable jewellery and furniture, it is advisable to keep photographs of them, as it may be useful to attach them to the theft report to allow investigators to branch out their searches and demonstrate ownership in the event of their recovery;
The first places that thieves examine, in case of entry into apartments, are the wardrobes, the drawers, the clothes, the inside of vases. Therefore, you have to use a little imagination to identify different and non-trivial places;
If you notice suspicious people wandering around or hanging around your house, you should take care to memorize the type of vehicle they are using, especially writing down the license plate number, and notify the Police without fear of disturbing them. The patrol will arrive quickly and carry out the necessary checks: better an empty warning than one more theft!
Pay attention, when you return home, if on the entrance door and on the jamb at the corresponding height, at a short distance, usually in the lower or upper parts, glue has been applied with a thin transparent thread. This simple system is used by thieves to understand if the door is opened or not and, in this way, identify the homes that are not currently occupied, in order to be able to organize furtive accesses;
Avoid posting your prolonged absences from home on social networks in real time: organized groups of home thieves often monitor the web in search of easy prey by checking who “posts” vacation photos.
“Residential burglaries are one of the crimes against property that most affect urban areas, including ours – highlighted the police commissioner of the Province of Bolzano Paul Sartori –. The effective intervention of the Police Forces, therefore, cannot ignore the direct collaboration of all citizens, both by promptly reporting any situation that appears at least suspicious, and by adopting the self-defense systems and precautions that are recommended to prevent thieves from violating our homes”.
(Ansa archive photo)
2024-08-23 21:18:31