Next door neighbours got burgled last night - what can we do to protect us?

[MissNJE]

Hello,

I know not AIBU but I am quite worried now and need advise to calm me down. I am abroad at the moment and just heard that our neighbours got burgled last night by six guys with machetes. I am really worried now. Our neighbourhood is very safe and despite all the houses in our drive have alarm systems nobody ever used them.

We don't double lock the front door usually when we are inside just in case of a fire but will do so from now on. We need to set-up the alarm now but what else can we do?

Don't answer the door to anyone you don't know. Keep a phone nearby to contact the emergency services.

Anything you'd normally do, really.

I hope your neighbours are ok, that must have been terrifying for them.

Make your house a less attractive option for burgurlars than the houses next to it.

Set your alarm every night and every time you're out. Keep doors and windows locked downstairs and don't leave windows upstairs open if you're out. Get decent fencing and gates with suitable (thorny) planting next to them. Keep all sheds/garages/outbuildings that might have ladders or tools in well secured. Suggest they start/join neighbourhood watch.

Get a dog.

Ah. Just read the machetes bit . If you are in a country where that is a common burgurlary scenario I would consider lockable metal grilles in front of doors and windows and employing the services of a neighbourhood security firm.

If it's as shocking as it is to someone in the UK, I'd assume that they were targeted because of either people they know or very high wealth (the kind that involves having a safe for jewellery and several high end cars.) I would talk to the police if it's the latter and look at getting a security firm involved and a panic room set up.

Put a sign up saying "beware of the dog" even if you don't have one, I think that would be a good deterrant.

YY to all these suggestions. I always leave a light on even in the day and also I leave the radio on and set the alarm.

Raise

Neighbours have two large dogs, that didn't stop them.

Do not get a dog unless you truely want a dog and you're willing to take on the responsibility for it. I have a dog and it didn't stop the bastards that burgled me a few weeks ago, they simply shut her in the front room. Of course it helped them that she would greet Lucifer himself as her very best, long lost friend

i bet you are a bit shaken.

dont leave valuables in sight such as purse, wallets, car keys and christmas presents on display. gets net/blinds ( make sure you have cord safty attached) so people can't look through your windows. Set alarms and get a beware of dog sign and if you have an alarm set it.

Do you think the neighbours were specifically targeted? I would imagine the burglars would realise the whole neighbourhood would now step up security.

It doesn't sound like an ordinary burglary, does it? It sounds as though they were specifically targetted. You don't send six men with machetes in to steal ipads and handbags.

We have a fantastic device, a beam across the gates, when somebody crosses it a vouce says "you are on private land and being recorded by cctv" Its enough to think they will go to an easier target, cost next to nothing xx

That's what I thought Imperial. Bit OTT for a normal burglary.

Where did you get this device. We were burgled recently. The bastards took nothing. Except our peace of mind and sense of safety and security in our own home. Bastards.

I have taught the iPad to misspell burglar

I don't know if the neighbours were targeted. I am abroad at the moment but will return to London tonight. Tomorrow I will have more information but I guess I won't have much sleep tonight.

Any decent electrician or alarm person could get hold of the talking beam, but i think ebay or amazon sell a security light that does the same thing. I would rather a burglar be put off coming in than an alarm going off once they are in your house!

The beam on the gates though is not as obvious to see as the security light though. I always wonder whether these people cold calling selling stuff are just casing the joint so to speak. My talking man just puts them off to another house that is easier (sadly for them!)

Your local police (community safety team, or something like that) will usually send someone out to look around your property and advise you on ways to increase security and deter criminals. As someone else said, spiky planting under windows and behind walls is a surprisingly good deterrent, although not something you can put in place tomorrow.

We had 2 attempted break ins at our old house and it was unnerving. When you add large gangs and machetes into the equation you must be terrified Your poor neighbours.

Keep a spare phone in the house charges up. When I was younger, burglars cut the phone line to my parents home and tried to get into the house whilst we were sleeping. This was before mobiles were common

I'd second the security metal door thing. this kind I mean
There have been a large number of this kind of home invasion robberies around our part of the world, the police said that many (not all) times it was Asian gangs who targeted Asian families as they tended to keep a lot of cash and also if they had weddings coming up there was a lot of jewelry kept in the homes, so many were being targeted as the whole neighborhood or temple knew what was going on and word gets about.

The same thing happened to us, well it was two men with machetes not six. 5am they kicked the door down and wanted DP's car keys. Few days later they used the car in an armed robbery and dumped it.

We now have doors with metal running through the middle that no-one can kick down.
An alarm that we set even when we pop out for five minutes. We set it for downstairs at night and I always double check this.
DP insists we leave our car keys on the stairs at night.
Every window has locks on.
We have various lights set to timer for when we're out.
We always lock the front and back doors when we're in.
And our neighbours also keep a close eye for us.

It's taken a while but we feel pretty safe now.

We had to have our French doors realigned. The bastards unscrewed the ready so they could carry more stuff out. The police told us they no longer smash windows to get in. We also had extra locks on French doors and I hardly open windows now as they are all double locked. I keep all doors locked all day and the police told us not to open the door to anyone we don't recognise or feel comfortable with. They advise asking for details by shouting through the door. We also leave a spare bedroom light on all night and a gall light.

Although they were disturbed( they tried to burgle us at 6pm) it cost us a lot of money to have the doors fixed, extra locks installed, alarm serviced etc. we used to have a metal grill on the French doors which was removed when we had new windows installed. Am keen to get that put on again as the police said glass French doors are favoured by burglars.

How frightening for your neighbours.
I had to have the police out to take a statement last year. Bumbledog threw himself snarling at the window when PC turned up. When i had let him in and BD had settled down the PC said "Mrs Jenkins can i tell you in all seriousness you never need to be worried about being burgled!!!"

Narked is right. Different rules in different countries.