burglar

[PAULONDON]

Hi All, i live in east dulwich at Lordship Lane and today i have been another victim at the area. they got into my house and stole cameras, laptop, gold ring, phones and mp3 player.. i am not sure how safe is to live in the area anymore. if anyone with cameras near Upland road please if you can supply some recording to us from 13-02-2013 between 13.00 and 17.30 hs.

Many thanks...

[Sue]

PAULONDON Wrote:

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i am not sure how safe is to live in the area anymore.

xxxxxxxx

Sorry you've been burgled, but please don't scaremonger.

Burglaries have always happened and they always will.

Unless you have statistical evidence that the burglary rate in East Dulwich is rising significantly, please don't say things like this.

And even if it was rising, that does not make the area "unsafe".

How did the burglars get into your house?

[PAULONDON]

Well i don'r wanna to scare everyone but just warn and i have also have asked for help. I have been told by police officers just at Overhill rd has been 3 burglaries last week and has been come very common in this area. This kind of crime has been taken all over London but East Dulwich too,and to be a quite area has become very easy for the thieves. they have managed to open the back door but unfortunately they used gloves, now i need to find cctv footage around.

BUT JUST THINK.. IF THAT HAPPENED TO ME HERE WHY NOT HAPPEN TO YOU OR NEXT DOOR !

[owlwise]

Hi PAULONDON

Sorry to hear you got burgled. Hope the b*stards get caught and you get your possessions returned.

[jimbo1964]

BUT JUST THINK.. IF THAT HAPPENED TO ME HERE WHY NOT HAPPEN TO YOU OR NEXT DOOR !

Yes we get it. It happened to me three years ago. Horrible and upsetting but it can happen anywhere but in the end it's only stuff and you get over it. It would be good to see more police wandering about. And good if everyone stays vigilant.

[owlwise]

If anyone might consider an alarm/monitored system Direct Security are very reasonable in fitting/monitoring prices. Based in Sydenham. I've used them for over 10 years and they provide excellent customer service. They also fit CCTV.

http://www.directsecurity.net/index.html

[MissB6]

Hey Paul, sorry about what happened to you. It's a very disturbing experience. I'm also sorry some of our forum friends are so insensitive/protective. I think it's good you shared your experience - reminds people to be careful. I saw this article recently (and I think it has been posted on here before) - ED rating in top 20 hotspots for burglary.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-top-20-burglary-hotspots-8466447.html

However, burglaries aside (which granted, can happen anywhere), I feel ED is generally a safe place to live. Best wishes to you.

[Sue]

MissB6 Wrote:

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I'm also sorry some of our forum friends are so insensitive/protective.

xxxxxxx

If you're referring to my post - I said I was sorry about the burglary.

However, please have a thought for anxious and vulnerable people in our community who see posts stating things like "i am not sure how safe is to live in the area anymore" and "BUT JUST THINK.. IF THAT HAPPENED TO ME HERE WHY NOT HAPPEN TO YOU OR NEXT DOOR !" and become even more anxious and afraid.

Do you think that's helpful?

There are ways of saying that you've been burgled without putting the fear of God into everybody :)

By all means warn others to be careful, but making sure your home is secure is surely a bit of a no-brainer, whether there have been burglaries in your area or not?

And if it is secure and they still get in - well, what more could you have done? No point whipping everybody up into a frenzy of fear. The chances of it happening to you are actually quite small, though it doesn't feel like that when it happens (and yes I have been burgled myself - in a quiet country area when I was by myself in the house and asleep in bed. It can happen anywhere).

ETA: And the figures given in the Independent article are not for the number of burglaries in the area. If you want to look at the comparative risk of being burgled you should compare police statistics.

This is what the article says:

MoneySupermarket.com analysed 3.49 million applications for home insurance quotes made between December 2011 and the end of November 2012.

They looked at the number of users who said they had made a claim for burglary at their current address in the past two years.

The number of claims made per 1,000 enquiries was then calculated, to allow areas to be compared.

[PAULONDON]

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT, IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE KNOW THATS IS A GROUP ACTING IN THE AREA NOW.. I AM AROUND THE NEIGHBOUR HOOD LOOKING FOR INFORMATION.. IT IS VERY ANNOYING AS I LOVE E. DULWICH AND MY IMPORTANT BELONGS HAS GONE FOR EXCHANGE FOR DRUGS. I HAVE A CCTV BUT THEY HAVE BLIND IT WITH VERY POWERFUL LASER SO I CANNOT RECOVER ANY RECORDING :(

[PAULONDON]

MISSB6... PEOPLE THINK DIFFERENT AND THATS THE WAY I AM THINKING NOW. I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT CLEARLY ... YOU WOULD FELL FEAR IF YOU GET TO YOUR HOUSE AND EVERYTHING IS UPSIDE DOWN... THEY HAVE ALSO INJURED MY CAT (I BELIEVE THEY KICKED ) .. ..

[dad_jokes]

this really is sickening. if it is a group, how are the police not able to find anything after a series of incidents??

[lane lover]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> MissB6 Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> I'm also sorry some of our forum friends are so

> insensitive/protective.

>

> xxxxxxx

>

> If you're referring to my post - I said I was

> sorry about the burglary.

>

> However, please have a thought for anxious and

> vulnerable people in our community who see posts

> stating things like "i am not sure how safe is to

> live in the area anymore" and "BUT JUST THINK.. IF

> THAT HAPPENED TO ME HERE WHY NOT HAPPEN TO YOU OR

> NEXT DOOR !" and become even more anxious and

> afraid.

>

> Do you think that's helpful?

>

> There are ways of saying that you've been burgled

> without putting the fear of God into everybody :)

>

> By all means warn others to be careful, but making

> sure your home is secure is surely a bit of a

> no-brainer, whether there have been burglaries in

> your area or not?

>

> And if it is secure and they still get in - well,

> what more could you have done? No point whipping

> everybody up into a frenzy of fear. The chances of

> it happening to you are actually quite small,

> though it doesn't feel like that when it happens

> (and yes I have been burgled myself - in a quiet

> country area when I was by myself in the house and

> asleep in bed. It can happen anywhere).

>

> ETA: And the figures given in the Independent

> article are not for the number of burglaries in

> the area. If you want to look at the comparative

> risk of being burgled you should compare police

> statistics.

>

> This is what the article says:

>

> MoneySupermarket.com analysed 3.49 million

> applications for home insurance quotes made

> between December 2011 and the end of November

> 2012.

>

> They looked at the number of users who said they

> had made a claim for burglary at their current

> address in the past two years.

>

> The number of claims made per 1,000 enquiries was

> then calculated, to allow areas to be compared.

I agree. Its fine to come on here and report crime, but be constructive and provide specific information that would help others apply preventative measures in the future. We live in a large capital city, and you will find the crime rate in ED is comparable across the Capital. I think its pointless to express statements that "sensationalise" the situation. Its an unfortunate incident, but it doesnt mean ED is unsafe vis a vis the rest of London.

Also, can you take off caps-lock. It comes across as aggressive / shouting.

[stephen509]

I'm not threatened by cap locks.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Sad to hear that they also got around the CCTV cameras.

[PAULONDON]

Thanks Stephen ! MissB6 i expect people to help or get warned only, i do not want to shout, be aggressive or sensationalise ! I hope you made your day a little better by telling people about your statistics and try to avoid people be scared you really help the community with your accurate comments .

I WISH IT NEVER HAPPENS TO YOU ! GOD BLESS YOUR HOUSE ! AND HAVE A GOOD DAY !

[MissB6]

Hey Sue - there are reports of burglaries on this forum regularly so I'm pretty sure people - anxious & vunerable or not - can make up their own minds, from their own experiences, about whether they feel safe in and around ED. As I said, I feel perfectly safe in ED even though I too have been a victim of crime here! Was just giving Paul a little neighbourly understanding :) Also, it's a bit worrying if one person's comments on concerns over safety sends the entire ED population into a frenzied panic. News of a new Waitrose might.

Lane Lover - agree.... crime is a part of life, wherever you live, sadly.

[Juness]

So sorry to hear about your break in. Seems to be a common topic on here. I hope you were insured and get replacements soon. The worst part is the non-replacable sentimental belongings. I hope they get caught! Horrible thing to happen to anyone.

All the best

[James Barber]

Hi PAULLONDON,

I'm really sorry to hear you've bene burgled. Horrible experience.

Hi lane lover,

Southwark residential burglaries 12 months to end of January'13 were 1,952 compared to the 12 months upto end Jan;'12 2,157. So down 9.5%.

But for East Dulwich crime is markedly up and this is probably due to our Safer Neighbourhood Team being abstracted (told to work elsewhere) from our area. Boris has decided to remove the dedicated East Dulwich team to fight crime elsewhere. Effectively he's decided areas such as ours should have fewer Police resources even when that results in more crime so they can fight crime in other areas. As it was we get disproportionately less Police resources than other areas but he's determined to end Safer Neughbourhoold Teams. If you think this is outrageous tell him via:-

http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/policing-and-crime/community-engagement

[polla2256]

I propose action.

What can we do beyond that which is already done ???

Citizen Patrols ? Raising Awareness ? Pressure groups ? Poseter campaign ?

I would very much like to start a "group" to combat these kind of crimes. PM me for interest !

[Penguin68]

While James may be right that the reduction in coverage by police support people has led directly to an increase in criminal activity it is worth noting:-

(1) That an overall reduction in police numbers has taken place during a time of overall reduction in reported crime.

(2) That crime reports are more likely where (assuming there has been no violence) householders are insured and need to report a crime to trigger insurance payments. Where there is no 'benefit' in reporting crime it may not be reported if you asssume that the criminals will not be caught. What this means to us is that, again assuming people in ED are generally weathering the recession better than some, then they will be more likely to be insured and more likely thus to report crimes against property.

(3) That outwith the above, anecdotal evidence at least suggests that where an area starts to become a target for crime the same groups will revisit it (just because they are familiar with the area, its layouts and the habits of its residents, exhibiting an unsurprising laziness and lack of originality) but may also, by bragging of their successes, encourage copy-cat criminals to visit an area possible being categorised as either 'easy' or one with 'rich pickings' However, this 'fashion' pull will disspiate once the low fruit have been picked (and once the criminals have re-visited earlier prey to steal insurance replaced new electrical goods etc.).

By all means knee-jerk with James into political activity, but you might wish to wonder whether the claimed cause and effect is quite so simple.

[PAULONDON]

I agree and could help when i am off .. patrols really would help.

[aicardo]

I can't believe the response this post has got.

If you're the only person that's burgled in a 20 mile radius, you'll still feel unsafe.

Let's use this forum as an opportunity to talk about what to do about it and provide support not write in upper case and make people feel worse than they do already.

Great post on CCTV and alarms, maybe get the police to review the safety of your home, they often do that for free and would be enough to put someone off.

[dimples]

im so sorry to hear youve been burgled , I too was burgled a year ago and I really hope you get back what gone even if its just peace of mind when returning home !

[tallulah71]

Really sorry to hear that. I have managed to avoid it in one of the most targetted roads in ED. Simply get a sign saying 'caution guard dogs'. I do have them...but even if you don't, the sign is clear, and most idiots won't try it on.....trust me. All houses around ours have been done but not ours.

[PAULONDON]

thanks for the tip... i might consider having a dog too !!!!

[spark67]

We had a letter from the police put through our door from the police, as did all our neighbours on Underhill road, stating their had been an increase in burglaries in our area And warning us to be vigilant. So I think its unfair to to berate someone on the forum for voicing concerns when the local police also feel their is a reason to be mindful of the threat.