‘Someone just took all my stuff’

‘I’ll just pull the door closed after me, I’m only gone for a couple of minutes, and my roommate will be home any time now.’ Sounds familiar? The most break ins in the Netherlands occur in rented homes. Specifically student accommodations are easy targets. ‘They are often badly protected against burglary and students pay little attention. They also usually house multiple students, so when you manage to get in it’s easy to quickly go through all the rooms. And they almost all have their own laptop, tablet or television.’, says an ex-burglar.

Last year, 64.560 burglaries took place in the Netherlands. Of those, most did not occure at night but during the afternoon (36%). The easiest access is always an open door or window: 1 in 6 break-ins happen because the thief could easily sneak in.

So pay a little more attention! This weeks protips are:

• Have a properly functioning lock on your front door.
• Always lock your room when you leave.
• Always lock your front door when you leave.
• Put your laptop or other valuable items out of sight when you leave.
• Going away for a longer period of time, like a nice weekend away? Take your more easily portable valuables with you.
• There is no such thing as a ‘secret stash/place’. Don’t put house keys under mats or flower pots outside the house

Have a look at www.maakhetzeniettemakkelijk.nl (only in Dutch unfortunately) for more tips on how to make your house burglary-proof.