My House was burgled

platypus · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:01

Sorry to hear this, as you say (most) things can be replaced.

It's the fact that someone has violated your property.

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:01

~>Dg<~ said:
aslong as you insured you should be okay that area.

police will come say they probably wore gloves yada yada no chance of catching them and leave shortly after.

They probably won't say that tbh.

thep02 · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:02

EdwardTeach said:
massive

Agreed.

Adsta · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:03

nick.lidgett said:
Im having the cctv for the simple reason that it improves the chances of a positive ID of the perp. And more importantly it makes me and my wife feel better.

Unless you have a CCTV system that is specced for facial recognition and have certain zones in which it can display a almost perfect picture of the perp's face. It’s pointless because A) police will not use it B) it would not be able to be used as evidence of a robbery.

All CCTV (for most home users) does for general use is a deterrence at which point dumb cheap cameras that are not hooked up to a full system would do the job.

But as mentioned by a few others, a better investment would be in your physical security. Locks, doors, and windows.

But anyways it's not a thing to happen

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:06

At OP, I'm sorry to hear that. Burglary is an awful crime and burglars are not my favourite people. I've been to two jobs where I've caught burglars in the act - one was a wily fella and committed the cardinal sin of making me run after him.

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:08

I've also been to one job where some nugget broke into a property belonging to a semi pro cage fighter and was apprehended by him ......

Schlong&Stable · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:08

nick.lidgett said:
Im having 4 infrared cameras and 3 security lights, along side these im having a fully wireless alarm system fitted.

The cameras will be linked to a box under my tele, ive got a 1tb hhd to put in it. It will also be connected to my router so i can access them from anywhere.
I am probably looking at about £1500 - £1800 (depending on which cameras we go for) for the whole system, luckily my wife's cousin is a sparky so he is supplying and fitting it for us.

I don't mean to seem rude, but isn't it a bit daft to have the CCTV fed into a box under the TV? I mean, if I was a burglar I'd be snatching up everything on your TV stand. Feed it into a box that is hidden away somewhere clever.

I dread getting burgled, so I can understand how upset and violated you must feel. I mean, I don't care about losing the things because insurance should cover that, but the feeling someone's been going through my things would upset me.

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:10

^^

This.

thep02 · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:12

Von Smallhausen said:
I've also been to one job where some nugget broke into a property belonging to a semi pro cage fighter and was apprehended by him ......

Man! I bet that was one burglar who was happy when the police got him, I expect the cage fighter had a good local rep that would have terrified the thief.

The IPB · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:12

Save your money on CCTV and alarms and buy a dog.

Then fit the dog with lasers.

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:15

thep02 said:
Man! I bet that was one burglar who was happy when the police got him, I expect the cage fighter had a good local rep that would have terrified the thief.

I was more amazed at his restraint tbh but he had the lad in a hold and you couldn't bend wire the shape he was in.

jas72 · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:17

EdwardTeach said:
Very true, I think they shoudl legalise and regulate heroin, it would lead to a massive drop in crime: burglary, shoplifting etc

Burglary isn't investigated much and even after 10s of houses if caught the burglar will be out in a day and get a community service order.

It's a win win for burglars tbh. Just be careful they don't do your house again. Even a false alarm box will deter.

pitchfork · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:19

I live in a nice house in a nice area, surrounded by decent people and I guess I was pulled into a false sense of security.

Why would scumbags rob poor areas, they don't have any money and they're generally busier. It's a lesson to be learned I guess.

It does suck man but eventually you'll get over it, hopefully they'll catch the *******s and give em a good shoeing.

It's always good practise to keep your house locked tight, even when you're in it, I've walked down stairs before now to see some scumbag (obviously a drug addict) standing in my hallway, heading into the kitchen "Who the **** are you?" I exclaimed, he just mumbled something like "Sorry wrong house" and walked out. Had I not came downstairs at that point he could have easily taken a load of valuables and been gone.

thep02 · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:20

The IPB said:
Save your money on CCTV and alarms and buy a dog.

Then fit the dog with lasers.

I've got a small rotatable camera with motion detection that sends a video to my phone, cost about £50, it's called watchbot.

@ VonSmallhausen, that was my mental picture, choke hold with leg grapples, yup sounds like self discipline was evident.

Cosimo · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:20

The IPB said:
Save your money on CCTV and alarms and buy a dog.

Then fit the dog with lasers.

I'm trying to picture this dog with its light show and it's just not working.

Ingenious TROLL · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:21

Von Smallhausen said:
I've also been to one job where some nugget broke into a property belonging to a semi pro cage fighter and was apprehended by him ......

Excellent choice of words haha..

@OP, sorry for your loss, but as you've said, most items can be replaced, the hard part is the fact someone has been in your home and the feeling it leaves afterwards; time will fix that, just remember it's your castle, you're the king, and this scumbag will be in the stockades in no time with any luck!

Von Smallhausen · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:29

When I say nugget, I meant misunderstood violator of houses.

Narj · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:42

When an alarm is put in, do they have to chase up the walls or anything? Really not keen on the idea of my renovated place being trashed again.

tom_e · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:42

We've had a lot of break ins around our estate in the last few months, unfortunately we're the nice area bordered by the not so nice ones.
I think some little junkie might get a hell of a surprise if he walks in on 2 doormen and a great big dog though.

Narj said:
When an alarm is put in, do they have to chase up the walls or anything? Really not keen on the idea of my renovated place being trashed again.

They can trunk all the cables but obviously it won't look as good as chasing it into the walls.

nick.lidgett · 28 Jan 2014 at 15:47

Ok some good news, after a door to door it turns out a neighbour saw a groups of "youths" lurking about the street and they have been caught on CCTV at the off license around the corner, the community support officer told me the owner has given a copy to the police and if any of them are know to the police they will be questioned.

The police think it was just a "chancer" than a professional thief as the items they took were very small and easy to carry, it appears its happened around mid day, as another neighbour said she saw our back door open around 1pm, and this ties in with the sightings of the "youths".

So far i have been very impressed with the police service, they have been prompt and very good in their communications with me and my wife.

I have resigned myself to the fact i will never see my stuff again and if the person or persons are caught they will get nothing more than a telling off but like some others have said in this thread Karma will get them eventually.

Cheers guys