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Break-ins are on the increase, with home and car owners advised to take the necessary precautions to avoid falling prey to what has now become a common phenomenon, police said.
On Friday alone, nearly £6,000 in cash and valuables was stolen in two different break-ins in Limassol and Nicosia.
The first occurred some time between 9pm on Thursday and 12.15am on Friday. The 31-year-old homeowner told police that jewellery, a laptop and an electronic game had been taken, valued at a total £4,470. The second theft occurred in a window of just five minutes and involved thieves smashing a woman’s car window between 8pm and 8.05pm on Friday. The culprits made off with a bag containing £900, a wallet, and jewellery worth £580, police said.
In the past, there were far fewer car and home break-ins with the numbers steadily increasing every year from just over 1,000 reported six years ago to 2,830 in 2005 and over 3,000 in 2006.
“In 2001, there were 1,228 break-ins for the entire year. This number almost trebled by 2006 when there were 3,082 break-ins,” the police spokesman’s office told the Cyprus Mail.
“This year, by the end of March, there have already been 618 break-ins, a figure now considered around the normal range,” the officer added.
According to a police survey, the escalation can be put down to an increase in drug use, prompting addicts to steal what they can to secure payment for their next fix, and an influx of foreigners living in poverty. Police said a large number people fell foul to thefts or break-ins due to ignorance or negligence in implementing measures to protect their property.
To avoid becoming another statistic, police recommend homeowners’ front doors be solidly built with a peephole to see who is at the door. A security chain is also useful, and all outer doors and windows, especially on the ground floor or on a floor with easy access, should be secured with locks.
Unfortunately, police said aluminium sliding doors, popular in houses and flats, were a problem as they lacked powerful security locks and were easier for thieves to break in through.
Bolts were also an important aspect in keeping your home safe, police said. “Make sure the bolt is at least 20cm in length, and never hide the key near the door because thieves know where to look and find it. If your key is stolen, change the locks immediately. Never leave the key in the door or indoors by an adjacent window.”
External lighting, sensitive to movement, and an alarm system were other thief deterrents, police said.
“Money, important documents and valuables should be kept in a safe of proportional size to the valuables kept in it. The key can be carried with you or if it’s a safe with a code, never leave it written down near the safe or lying about.”
Police recommend closed circuit televisions for homes containing assets of great value, and to ensure that the company responsible for installing the system keeps it maintained. Another important measure was to ask a trustworthy neighbour to keep an eye out on your home when you’re away, with you doing the same for them when they are away. “The level of security of the entire neighbourhood will improve to a great degree if all the neighbours co-operate and we will willingly help in this department,” police said.
Motorists also had to remember to keep their cars locked at all times, even while parked outside their own home, and not to leave valuable items in plain view. As for motorcyclists, they should always lock and remove the key from their vehicles, police said.
Police also appealed to the public for their assistance in stamping out the phenomenon by making a simple phone call to the citizens’ communication line on 1460, or the emergency numbers 199 and 112, to report suspicious people or vehicles.
“Try and be in a position to describe them. Especially if you can get a registration number then investigating the information is made easier,” police said.
“Remember thieves go for easy targets, so make your home a difficult target so that you’re not the next victim.”
‘It’s awful to feel someone has been in your home, going through your things’
thirty-two-year-old Andrea Michaelidou, not her real name, said her flat had been broken into last year.
“I was away on a trip and came home to find that my door had been kicked in and my laptop missing,” she said.
Michaelidou, who lives on the third floor of an apartment block in a good area in Nicosia, said the experience had left her feeling violated.
“I was in a state of shock and felt kind of scared because one, I live in a very good area and two, I’m on the third floor, which means they had to actually enter the building and come up the stairs. It’s not as if my flat was on the ground floor, which you’d understand being targeted as it’s more easily accessible,” she said.
Since the incident, the 32-year-old, who lives alone, said she’d had special locks put in and installed an alarm system. The thieves have not been found, she added.
George and Ioanna Christofides, again not their real names, said their apartment too had been robbed six months ago.
Like Michaelidou’s home, the couple’s front door lacked special locks and had no alarm system, making it easy for the thieves to break in through the front entrance.
The culprits ransacked the apartment and stole jewellery, a camera and other small items of lesser value.
“The police said they believe drug addicts strapped for cash were behind the break-in, which is why the apartment was in such disarray. They were trying to get their hands on what they could and to get out of there as soon as possible,” said George.
The couple, both in their 50s, said this was the first time they had been the victims of such a crime and it was “creepy”.
“Things have changed. We live in an exclusive residential area and things like this just didn’t happen before. It’s awful to feel someone has been in your home, going through your things. We’ve now got an alarm system so hopefully that will scare anyone off if they ever try it again,” said Ioanna. | 
