Local burglars checking out properties via lock tampering

lazyatom

I'm pretty sure our house got targeted yesterday by someone who wanted to see if it was vacant, with the intention of breaking in if they knew we were away.

When we got home last night, we found a little bit of foliage from one of our plant pots poked in the lock of our gate. It seems like the system is that if they return the next day and find that whatever is in the lock hasn't been removed, there's a decent chance that the property isn't currently occupied and so is a better prospect for burglary.

Has anyone else experienced this? A bit of searching online reveals a similar technique using sellotape over a lock. When we phoned 101, the officer had no idea what we were talking about, and suggested it was "a joke", but couldn't explain what the punchline might be.

cmo

Might be worth contacting stroud green police - 02087212837

krappyrubsnif

There have been A LOT of burglaries recently. In the last week one in Lorne Road and three in Florence Road I believe.

You would have thought SG police could send out a warning about this kind of thing. Maybe even leave a message here. Anyone listening, Stroud Green Police?????

miss annie

We get a letter through the door every time there's a burglary in our road. That's Islington side of SGR though.

joust

I got a knock from a police, and a letter when the next door neighbour had some people poking around in their garden. But nothing else in the last few years.

Haringey side.

tosscat

What's the MO of the actual break-ins?

joust

Sell stuff, buy scag.

tosscat

Who knew?

krappyrubsnif

In Lorne Road, through the front door in daylight, multiple occupation flats. Don't know how much force used. It's been years since the last lot, scumbags just kicked in the front doors and stole my neighbours bikes from the hall.

therattle

We had our front door kicked in in the summer and stuff grabbed from the hall - hit an run. Then the front window was levered open a few weeks later, and similarly, bags etc taken and a quick exit.
Now we have an alarm, a moat stuffed with crocodiles, fierce guard dogs and bear traps.

krappyrubsnif

My worst burglary competition. We have only been hit once, long time ago when somebody actually threw a brick from the street through our front window at three o'clock in the morning, climbed through the hole and took the TV. Woke up the whole street. We were in Poland at the time so we missed the whole thing. It was a rubbish telly anyway. Kids, eh?

Since then, always closed the Victorian shutters.