Recent Burglaries

Langerland

There have been a spate of burglaries in the area where they are taking top of the range, premium bicycles. One was a neighbor of mine and another was a colleague from work. In both cases, it was fairly evident that the burglars knew exactly what was in the house and went straight for it. These robberies are happening at all times of the day and any day of the week.

Just a heads up to watch out for unusual activity. In the cases I heard, the burglars cycled the bikes away and probably loaded them into a van down the road. There was another case I heard of where they only managed to get one of two bikes. They came back a week later and took the other one. So they are not just your regular thieves.

So I guess we can all be vigilant and report anything unusual - individuals going house to house who are not from area, vans patrolling (one report of a white van given already) & of course if you see people loading bikes or anything that is a bit off or unusual.

wicklowdub

Everyone should keep their lights on at their front doors, help illuminate the front of house. Small things like that can deter some criminals.

vinpaul

Gardaí taking fingerprints today in Hillside. I was told of 2 break-ins last evening.
Also some "iffy" carol singers doing the rounds. They were in Hillside at about 5:30 to 6:30 yesterday evening.
Switch on alarms, lock sheds, close windows etc.
Be vigilant and report anything suspicious.

Zoe zebra

Just had our alarm company in today about a sensor. Said that there are loads of burglaries at the moment in Greystones, Kilmacanogue and Bray. Main gangs are in a blue hiace operating in Greystones area and silver ford transit in Bray area. Kicking front doors in as there is a delay on the front door sensor to allow you to turn off alarm.

loyatemu

vinpaul wrote: »

Gardaí taking fingerprints today in Hillside. I was told of 2 break-ins last evening.
Also some "iffy" carol singers doing the rounds. They were in Hillside at about 5:30 to 6:30 yesterday evening.
Switch on alarms, lock sheds, close windows etc.
Be vigilant and report anything suspicious.

we had 2 kids call to our door singing carols the other night - when queried they said they were from Bray and were collecting money for their sister to do an Irish dancing competition, which sounded a bit strange.

burnaby

Many burglar alarms have a 30 second delay on the front door / normal entry door, and this is more than enough time for burglars to find and disable the control panel. Householders should consider having this delay period reduced, so that the monitoring service can receive notification of a break-in before the burglars disable the alarm system. I know that most external alarms bells will continue to ring if the control panel is damaged, but external bells are often ignored.

2011

burnaby wrote: »

Many burglar alarms have a 30 second delay on the front door / normal entry door, and this is more than enough time for burglars to find and disable the control panel. Householders should consider having this delay period reduced

Reducing this time is not permitted for alarms connected to monitoring stations because it leads to an increase in false alarm activations.

Burglars can only disable the alarm panel within 30 seconds if they can locate it quickly. This is why installing the panel in the hallway is not desirable in my opinion. However it is a very convenient location for the alarm installer when working on it.

I know that most external alarms bells will continue to ring if the control panel is damaged, but external bells are often ignored.

External bells are very important. Many of the older wireless PhoneWatch alarms had no working bell on the outside of the property. This combined with a very accessible internal sounder and easy to defeat communication system made these alarms pretty ineffective.

The Home Security Forum would be a better place to discuss this.

Zoe zebra

My mother's phonewatch alarm panel was lifted off the wall and put in a sink of water within the 30 seconds so the signal never went to the monitoring company. We have now had them reduce the time to five seconds which means a gallop in the door to switch it off but that's better than the alternative.

Given that there is a surge of burglaries around greystones with the most popular modus operandi being to kick in front doors it would be worthwhile for people in the greystones area to get the time on their alarm panels reduced.

In relation to the "burglaries to order" for expensive bikes in greystones the thieves must be carrying out some sort of surveillance of people at the dart station bike racks or else following them as they're cycling on local roads if they know exactly who to target?

Alun

When we moved into our house, the previous owner had Phonewatch too, and the panel was in a small press in the hallway, easily accessible to all and sundry. We had a new alarm fitted, and the installer fitted it in the attic. No way would any would be thief be able to get at that within 30 seconds.

2011

Remember it is 30 seconds once you open the front door to the time the alarm goes off. Then a further 30 seconds before the alarm is permitted to dial the monitoring station. Then at least another 10 seconds to dial the number and for the monitoring station system to pick up the call (assuming the line is not busy). Then the account code has to be transmitted and the information passed to an employee of the monitoring station, another 30 seconds at least. They can then attempt to contact key holders. In summary the first 30 seconds is only a small part of the overall delay.

pixbyjohn

2011 wrote: »

Remember it is 30 seconds once you open the front door to the time the alarm goes off. Then a further 30 seconds before the alarm is permitted to dial the monitoring station. Then at least another 10 seconds to dial the number and for the monitoring station system to pick up the call (assuming the line is not busy). Then the account code has to be transmitted and the information passed to an employee of the monitoring station, another 30 seconds at least. They can then attempt to contact key holders. In summary the first 30 seconds is only a small part of the overall delay.

Thanks for letting everyone know :rolleyes:

Alun

You can be certain all the burglars know this already.

2011

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Thanks for letting everyone know :rolleyes:

No problem, it's all on the internet.
It is not a secret. In fact you will find most of the informationin on the Garda Policy Document on Monitored Alarms.
Armed with the information that burglars already know people can make thier homes more secure.


I avoided all of the delays mentioned in my last post and save myself a fortune by getting my alarm to text all keyholders within 20 seconds of the front door opening. It will also phone all keyholders in rotation and play a recorded message. The cost saving comes from not using a monitoring station (which is responsible for most of the delay) and maintaining the alarm myself.

Aronaay

The best option would be to get an alarm that texts you personally as you'll know yourself if there should be someone at home

ellejay

loyatemu wrote: »

we had 2 kids call to our door singing carols the other night - when queried they said they were from Bray and were collecting money for their sister to do an Irish dancing competition, which sounded a bit strange.

Two kids called to my house also, but the Dad was with them. I queried what they were collecting for also, the Dad said it was for a "better christmas for the kids." The kids were loving the singing so gave a small donation. Thought it was unusual but sure it's Christmas and money's tight everywhere

HappyDaze007

Anyone try a motion detection IP cam..?

Sends e mail to your smart phone with pics...

No noisy false alarms...

2011

Langerland wrote: »

There have been a spate of burglaries in the area where they are taking top of the range, premium bicycles.

A friend in Delany had his bike stolen in the last day or two.
Be vigilant people!

cavemeister

I was watching a TV show about preventing burglaries and the presenter mentioned setting up strobe lighting to the hall and sitting room. They can be bought very cheaply and installed easily. In effect, it only really works at night but once activated, it renders the burglar as good as blind and will flee.

Huntthe

2011 wrote: »

Remember it is 30 seconds once you open the front door to the time the alarm goes off. Then a further 30 seconds before the alarm is permitted to dial the monitoring station. Then at least another 10 seconds to dial the number and for the monitoring station system to pick up the call (assuming the line is not busy). Then the account code has to be transmitted and the information passed to an employee of the monitoring station, another 30 seconds at least. They can then attempt to contact key holders. In summary the first 30 seconds is only a small part of the overall delay.

The information in this post is incorrect. It is outdated. The delay on the designated entry/exit point was standard 30 seconds ( all other points had no delay) IT is now set to what the customer (who knows where the panel or keypad is ) needs to get to it to switch it off. It does not take 30 seconds for the alarm to dial in. THis is also an outdated statement .The information required for the monitoring station to respond is transmitted simultaneously . The older alarms where indeed susceptible to being removed from phone line where entry was easily gained and the alarm was in an obvious spot. good doors and windows and external lighting will always be your first line of defence. The newer alarms only have the keypad on the wall. The alarm itself is hidden

2011

Huntthe wrote: »

The information in this post is incorrect. It is outdated. The delay on the designated entry/exit point was standard 30 seconds ( all other points had no delay) IT is now set to what the customer (who knows where the panel or keypad is ) needs to get to it to switch it off. It does not take 30 seconds for the alarm to dial in. THis is also an outdated statement .The information required for the monitoring station to respond is transmitted simultaneously . The older alarms where indeed susceptible to being removed from phone line where entry was easily gained and the alarm was in an obvious spot. good doors and windows and external lighting will always be your first line of defence. The newer alarms only have the keypad on the wall. The alarm itself is hidden

Any links to support this?

Huntthe

2011 wrote: »

Any links to support this?

just the horses mouth. This information can be verified by contacting the various alarm companies.

Cerco

Huntthe wrote: »

The information in this post is incorrect. It is outdated. The delay on the designated entry/exit point was standard 30 seconds ( all other points had no delay) IT is now set to what the customer (who knows where the panel or keypad is ) needs to get to it to switch it off. It does not take 30 seconds for the alarm to dial in. THis is also an outdated statement .The information required for the monitoring station to respond is transmitted simultaneously . The older alarms where indeed susceptible to being removed from phone line where entry was easily gained and the alarm was in an obvious spot. good doors and windows and external lighting will always be your first line of defence. The newer alarms only have the keypad on the wall. The alarm itself is hidden

Ah yes, but how many houses have updated their alarms? Not too many, I would think, unless they had an incident.

HappyDaze007

cavemeister wrote: »

I was watching a TV show about preventing burglaries and the presenter mentioned setting up strobe lighting to the hall and sitting room. They can be bought very cheaply and installed easily. In effect, it only really works at night but once activated, it renders the burglar as good as blind and will flee.

Where could I pick one of these up..?
Could do with a new disco light..!

2011

HappyDaze007 wrote: »

Where could I pick one of these up..?
Could do with a new disco light..!

Maplins.
They sell lots of DJ equipment and electronic gadgetry.

Great value for money and much of what they sell make great educational presents for children.