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We have been robbed, my teen boys were in the house..

174 replies

Hendecan · 14/04/2021 11:45

I feel so shaky. I took my girls to an art club and my teen boys were in the house.
Thankfully my boys were not harmed or injured. The robbers forced their way in. We live in a detached property in a rural area. They took all my jewellery.
I feel sick- they were probably watching the house.

OP posts:
nimbuscloud · 14/04/2021 22:25

I didnt have insurance on my jewellery
Would your house insurance maybe cover it?

CandyLeBonBon · 14/04/2021 22:59

@PegasusReturns

So sorry for you and your boys.

A neighbour was burgled recently, fortunately she was out. They have an alarm linked to live security so the police were there within 20 minutes. The burglars had gone but similar to you had taken a small safe.

The police said it was fairly standard: most houses of a certain size have a safe in the master bedroom/dressing room and many of them are not fixed so can just be carried out.

Make you wonder what the point of having a safe is??? They're not cheap either! Why bother?
ImAlrightThanx · 14/04/2021 23:04

@flashbac

Its intriguing they made a beeline for the jewellery only.
Easy to flog fast I would imagine. Asian families are often targeted for gold in burglaries. Obviously we don't know OPs ethnicity, but jewellery theft is fairly common.
memberofthewedding · 14/04/2021 23:42

I hope your sons are not badly affected by the break in and am glad they were not hurt. It takes a long time to get over such as experience.

When you say they left small electronic gadgets and made straight for a safe box with your jewellery, that sounds like someone with "insider" knowledge! A friend, neighbour or even a relative! I know that sounds sinister but something similar happened to me.

I had a break in from two masked men who knew there was someone in the house because I was shouting "fuck off" from behind the door. Its extremely rare for a break in to continue (the police said) because they (robbers) generally do not know who is there, how many there are, or if they are likely to resist. Its almost like they knew I was an elderly lone female. They knocked me to the floor and demanded money, but I never keep cash in the house so they got nothing. They left quickly when my screams attracted nearby neighbours to come out. Strangely enough my NDN, with whom I have never got on, did not come out. Just people from across and down the street. These other neighbours have since remarked it strange that the NDN did not come out or even call next day to see if I was ok. Yet a few days after when I apologised to NDN about the noise (police where here til 2 am) he seemed to know all about it. Now this leads me to believe that someone in the neighbourhood passed on info to the robbers that I lived alone. I also believe it was meant to scare rather than to hurt me as the demand for money was almost an afterthought.

I have since got a very loud alarm system and test it once a month. I put a note through the door of NDN explaining that I have to test the alarm monthly, so they should not worry if they hear it sound for a few seconds in the early evening. I told them it goes directly to the local police and that as per regulations I have to test it regularly. So now whoever passed on that info will be aware of the very loud alarm and that the new alarm box outside is not a dummy. I also have panic buttons in every room and one around me neck, plus a few nasty little booby traps that I set out each night.

weewitch · 14/04/2021 23:53

Oh Op, how scary for you - hope your boys are all ok.

PegasusReturns · 15/04/2021 08:20

Make you wonder what the point of having a safe is??? They're not cheap either! Why bother?

I think they act as a deterrent to opportunists and obviously if you have them properly fitted they are much more effective.

But the reality is if you have a lot of jewellery there is a good chance that at some point you will be targeted.

Another neighbour was robbed whilst at home. The robbers told her they’d done very well out of her a few years previously. They had come back for the insurance replacements. Awful.

nimbuscloud · 15/04/2021 08:47

But the reality is if you have a lot of jewellery there is a good chance that at some point you will be targeted

I can’t understand why the op didn’t have her jewellery insured. I would have thought that was equally as important as investing in a safe.

ineedaholidaynow · 15/04/2021 09:03

If you have nice enough jewellery to warrant a safe wouldn’t you insure it. I’m sure my engagement ring is listed separately on our household insurance and it isn’t that fancy or expensive

Moonstone1234 · 15/04/2021 09:03

I was burgled 5 years ago. They rampaged through the house - young lads and total scum. They caught them and their scum bag Mum tried to cover for them and say they were with her.

They found my DH Cartier watch and took that (we got it back!) but what 16 year old even knows what a Cartier watch is?

I am sorry for the language but they should have been at school but werent, Mum was unemployed so said they were with her during the day. I had an opportunity to meet them and I was keen but the police said it would be pointless. They would be defensive and wouldnt even look you in the eye. You had something they didnt so why not steal it from you (whilst you were out at work).

Its really not taken that seriously. They claimed the Mum was struggling, the young men needed another chance before they got a firm criminal record etc etc.

It was all very frustrating.

GappyValley · 15/04/2021 09:12

@endofthelinefinally

The Met Police won't even come out for armed robbery unless there is death or serious injury.
Absolute horseshit.

There was a report of an armed man in a park near me a few weeks ago, and the police were out in minutes. Armed response, helicopters, panda cars in surrounding streets.

It was a false alarm but the response took the report seriously.

Why would you post something some blatantly untrue?

VladmirsPoutine · 15/04/2021 09:15

Why would you post something some blatantly untrue?

One circumstance of something being true does not always make it thus Hmm

GizmoBasil · 15/04/2021 09:15

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

GappyValley · 15/04/2021 09:18

@VladmirsPoutine

Why would you post something some blatantly untrue?

One circumstance of something being true does not always make it thus Hmm

‘The met police won’t...’ is a blanket statement suggesting a policy. Not a one off.

It’s clearly not a policy, or even usual, and a PP’s experience does not make it thus Hmm

GizmoBasil · 15/04/2021 09:19

Oh good @VladmirsPoutine is piping up, always a treat.

The police, regardless of what force, will ALWAYS attend an armed robbery, REGARDLESS of death or serious injury. Armed robbery is, thankfully a very rare but incredibly dangerous and high risk incident. (Not to be confused with burglary, you cannot rob a house or burgle a person)

Trust me on this one.

Just stop ✋ spouting nonsense and mistruths.

endofthelinefinally · 15/04/2021 09:55

I am not lying. Several years ago my son was robbed at knife point in the street. He handed over his belongings and managed to escape.

I rang the police myself when he got home. They advised that as he was uninjured, they would provide a crime number and someone would come to take a statement. A week later I contacted them again and they said they were sorry but there were no officers available to take a statement. That was the end of it.

Someone was attacked and stabbed in the same area a few days later. I have no idea if it was the same people.

I am sure they would attend if someone was actually stabbed, but they were not able to investigate what happened to my son.

I have heard similar experiences from other people.
Perhaps things have improved in recent years.

Where I live stabbings are sadly quite common. My son was extremely lucky on that occasion.

Delatron · 15/04/2021 10:31

Would your jewellery be covered under your household insurance? I really don’t have much. Engagement ring and necklace but they are covered so fingers crossed.

But an awful experience and your poor boys.

I don’t wear the jewellery I have so we aren’t targeted! Which is a shame but I do think they watch houses and comings and goings.

FlyingBurrito · 15/04/2021 10:39

They found my DH Cartier watch and took that (we got it back!) but what 16 year old even knows what a Cartier watch is

My teens for sure, they like watches and could identify an expensive one at 10 paces. Me, I have no clue but we all have different interests.

My home insurance policy needs expensive items to be individually covered and an extra premium paid, that's been standard with every policy I've had so I can see why people might decide to not to insure some things.

Abraxan · 15/04/2021 10:49

Whilst we do have valuables in the house the only thing covered separately in insurance is dh's watch. Individual items have to be above a certain amount (few thousand) to need insuring separate;y in our policy.

When we were burgled the police came the same day.
When we were burgled in this house it was around midnight. The police arrived at 2am - they knew they'd gone already and they apologised for the delay. Our house alarm had scared them off and had woken us. Then the community team came during the day. The day after another team came and brought things like smart water and support guides.

The burglars had targeted dh's car. They took the wrong keys however. They'd clearly been watching his car and possibly following it to see where we lived. They weren't interested in electronics and devices such as iPads, MacBook, laptops, or dh's phone - all visible in the room they walked through.

They did return (or someone did) a few weeks later but didn't get in. We'd changed the patio locks (all the locks infact) to heavier duty anti-snap locks and they damaged them but couldn't get in. After that we changed the patio door handles and locks again so that there is no handle or visible lock on the outside,

We always make sure the alarm is fully on whenever we leave and partially on when we go to bed. The alarm stopped them coming upstairs.

We also leave the keys out. They aren't on view so can't be seen from doors or windows, but if anyone did get in the car keys are visible if they go into the hall. This was on the police advice - it means they take them and don't come upstairs and reduces the chance of them coming into your bedroom or ransacking your rooms. Though this does also depend on what they are looking for.

PegasusReturns · 15/04/2021 11:46

If you have nice enough jewellery to warrant a safe wouldn’t you insure it

It can be expensive and/or conditions of insurance can be prohibitive. Sometimes people will assume it’ll never happen and take the risk. There are many reasons I suppose.

Moonstone1234 · 15/04/2021 12:00

Abrxan, how awful for you. What scum they are. My worst nightmare is a burglary whilst you are in the house. Most of these people are cowards. We have a dog and the stories you hear about them attacking dogs to keep them quiet is truly awful.

I honestly hope they rot in jail but they wont will they. The do-gooders will come up with excuse after excuse as to why life hasnt handed them any luck so therefore its understandable they dont recognise right from wrong. Yes, I know its complex and the reasoning and background behind why they do what they do is not always as simple as that but its simple to the people who have been burgled.

Changechangychange · 15/04/2021 23:35

@GizmoBasil

Oh good *@VladmirsPoutine* is piping up, always a treat.

The police, regardless of what force, will ALWAYS attend an armed robbery, REGARDLESS of death or serious injury. Armed robbery is, thankfully a very rare but incredibly dangerous and high risk incident. (Not to be confused with burglary, you cannot rob a house or burgle a person)

Trust me on this one.

Just stop ✋ spouting nonsense and mistruths.

You are just wrong on that I’m afraid. Try living in Lambeth, they aren’t interested. It happens too often for them to investigate.

Unless you mean an armed robbery of a bank or whatever. Yes, I expect they’d turn up to something like that. But a mugging at knifepoint is not something they bother with.

Toomanyricecakes · 16/04/2021 00:11

Not sure I’ll sleep tonight now.

So sorry that this has happened to you OP.

MotherOfGodWeeFella · 16/04/2021 08:26

I think that some take the term "armed robbery" to mean involving guns. In which case the police would surely attend?

Ozgirl75 · 16/04/2021 08:52

I have also heard of a a number of targeted burglaries - often following the family having work (gardener, cleaner, maintenance etc) who have basically cased the joint.

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