Burglaries on rise as police offer security tips

| 12/12/2011

It's sometimes just too easy! web (217x300).jpg(CNS): As part of the police seasonal anti-crime campaign, officers from the RCIPS were offering security tips at a live demonstration Monday to help home and business owners keep their premises safe. Chief Inspector Angelique Howell, the officer in charge of Operation Christmas Cracker, the RCIPS safety campaign and crime crackdown, said that burglaries had increased recently so home and business owners needed to focus more on securing their premises and stop themselves becoming victims. CI Howell also encouraged people to contact the police about starting neighbourhood watch schemes.

“We’ve noticed an increase in burglaries over the past few weeks and the main purpose of our focus on home and business security is to encourage people to think a bit more about how they secure their property and businesses against would-be criminals,” CI Howell said, adding that sometimes all it takes is for people to make a few simple changes to their routine and their security arrangements to reduce their chances of becoming victims.

She pointed out that burglars like to work quickly so she pointed to things people can do to slow down a prospective burglar and ultimately deter them.

Howell said residents need to lock windows and use deadbolts on doors and not to hide keys. She advised placing bars in the tracks or track locks on all sliding glass doors and windows while being careful not to impede emergency getaways. She advised people to leave lights on automatic timers and to store jewellery and other valuables in a safe hiding place, such as a safety deposit box.

The senior officer also told people not to say they are going away on answer-phone messages and to encourage neighbours to be nosey and watch out for each other’s homes. She encouraged people on extended vacations to make arrangements to have someone mow the lawn or trim bushes and to notify the local police station that they will be away.

“We are often asked what people should do if they arrive home to find that a door has been kicked in or a window has been smashed and they don’t know if a burglar is still inside,” CI Howell said. “Our advice is that you shouldn’t enter the house but should immediately call 911 either from your cell phone or from a neighbour’s home.”

Throughout this week officers will be visiting businesses to speak with owners and staff about how to stay safe during the festive season. Brochures and pamphlets will also be distributed to ensure that members of staff who are not present will still have access to the all-important crime prevention advice. On Saturday, 17 December, RCIPS officers will be located outside supermarkets to provide shoppers with crime prevention information and advice.

If anyone wishes to speak to a police officer about home or business security, they should contact their local police station. Additional home and business security advice can be found on the RCIPS website www.rcips.ky

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I am sick and tired of hearing from the RCIP what the public should or should not do!!!

    When will the RCIP tell the public what they will do to decrease the burglaries?????

  2. Anonymous says:

    Telling people to barricade themselves in their homes is not exactly a crime-fighting strategy.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Re. the below – yes, that's exactly why the reporting rate is so low…

    How about the RCIPS actually

    How about the RCIPS actually follow-up and try to catch these low-lifers….? As one who was recently bur galled I await a phone call following their so called 'investigation'….. It's now been 2 months…. Should I hold my breath????!!! Useless-nothing new there then, eh?

  4. Anonymous says:

    Every residence should have a good alarm system set to go off at 15 seconds after door or winow breech. That will stop burglars in there tracks. Imagine that extremely loud siren going off. Do you think the burglar is going to stay in that residence with all that noise? I don't think so. At least that will stop house and condo burglaries.

    • "357 Magnum" says:

      “357 Magnum” version: Every residence should have a good “357 Magnum” set to go off at 15 seconds after door or winow breech. That will stop burglars in there tracks. Imagine that extremely loud “357 Magnum” going off. Do you think the burglar is going to stay in that residence with all that noise? I don’t think so. At least that will stop house and condo burglaries.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Yeah more of tips and advice from the RCIP like the same from the esteemed former Inspector Dr. White on people and businesses to blame for being robbed. How about the RCIP doing their job?They claim to be understaffed but how is it on average there are 180 Police Officers to every 100000 in the US and MOST communities there enjoy a lower crime rate then us and gun ownership is the norm? Enough with the lame advise and road shows DO THE JOB!

  6. Anonymous says:

    I have adog cage at home that can fit a large man.  If and of course 'if 'I get the person that tries to rob my place, they will be staying in that cage for christmas! 

  7. Anonymous says:

    Despite the comments quoted above this is nothing new and it is an on-going law enforcement problem dating back at least ten years.

    The best way to prevent burglaries is getting cops out on the street so they know the neighbourhoods and can spot the bad guys lurking around.

    If that fails forget deadbolts and all that security stuff – let property owners keep a big dog and/or a handgun.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Was the burglar in this photograph caught?

    • Anonymous says:

      The burglar photographed in this picture was seen entering the dwelling while police unit took pictures. Upon arrest there was not enough evidence toconvict the burgular as police could not determine if the man in the picture wearing the same cloths and arrested upon break in was in fact the same guy. Case dismissed.

  9. Anonymous says:

    How about the RCIPS actually follow-up and try to catch these low-lifers….? As one who was recently bur galled I await a phone call following their so called ‘investigation’….. It’s now been 2 months…. Should I hold my breath????!!! Useless-nothing new there then, eh?

    • Anonymous says:

      Totally agree, I too was recently burgled. Police arrived over 2 hrs after it was reported. We had to give our statement 3 days later at 11pm, never left the police station until 2.30am Spent 3 days cleaning up the finger print dust.  At the time we were told they got good prints, but we have heard nothing back from the police. I calld a few times and was told the investigation was ongoing. They are merely going through the motions.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Burgler bars will soon the norm in Cayman.

     

    Sad. Soon we will look like Trinidad.

    • my burning bush says:

      Chase off the money and that’s what you get. Awful strange how when the recession hit the US and UK and things started to contract locally, the first thing you all did was crank up the prices of everything and start chasing off everyone with money who wasn’t Caymanian. Can’t say I understood why you all did that, but this result was guaranteed to follow that decision. Were it me, I would have invited everyone with a net worth north of a million dollars to come on down for a couple years, no fees attached, set up house (helping the landlords) and open up a business (money and jobs coming with every new start, and new consumers with money for the local businesses) and thereby flood the local economy with new money. Course what you all did was the exact opposite of that, and with the lack of new money comes no jobs, comes unemployment and crime, comes the exodus of the good people who did have money and careers they could up-root and take elsewhere, comes a spiral of more crime and more money leaving and more crime and so on, and then comes the bars on the windows and here you are. Too late to take back the decision that caused it all in the first place, but it is awful strange that you all did this to yourselves. Can anyone tell me why? I am seriously (and respectfully) very curious.