"We came home, after only being out for about 45 minutes, and found the front door open, the lights on and our stuff everywhere," said Anthea who was the victim of a robbery in Benalmádena. "They got away with a watch, a ring, an iPod and some other bits and pieces."

Unfortunately, Anthea's situation is not unique. "This type of house robbery has been happening more frequently over the last few months," says a National Police officer in Benalmádena. "More often than not the burglars only take things they can easily put in their pockets before fleeing. Nowadays they're not taking the bigger items like televisions and computers as much. It is more likely to be jewellery, wallets and cash," he said.

"I think we must have disturbed the burglars as it appears they left in a hurry. We believe they had someone watching outside, while someone else was inside searching for valuables," said Anthea. "When we got home the front door hadn't been forced, there were no obvious marks of a forced entry using a crow bar or anything like that. The police who came around to us said this is quite normal as often the burglars can use what they called the "slip method" of breaking in where they run hard plastic down the locks."

Police response

In response to an increase in home burglaries, the National Police set up 'Operation Home' in mid-January which has already seen a number of thieves arrested. Those detained in the operation include four men from Bulgaria who are allegedy behind dozens of break-ins along the Costa del Sol and two Spanish men who are accused of commiting 15 robberies in and around Alhaurín de la Torre.

This campaign joins the initiative set up last year by the National Police which allows victims of robberies to check online to see if their stolen goods have been recovered by officers during police operations. At the time of its launch, a spokesman said, "This breakthrough 'Virtual Exhibition' provides a comfortable, fast and effective forum to see the goods that have been seized. The service is available on the website www.policia.es, meaning you can do online searches from your own home, anywhere in the world." According to investigators, foreigners who have had items stolen in their native countries have found jewellery on this website as it has been recovered by the authorities in Spain. "The most common items on the website are coins, pendants, chains, medals and crosses, bracelets, earrings, rings and brooches."

Police officers who were involved in the recent arrest of three men accused of robbing properties all over the country, including Malaga, have urged the public to keep an eye out for their neighbours' properties and people selling what could be stolen goods. "As well as detaining these men, thanks to members of the public we were also able to recover many of the stolen goods - watches, jewellery and electronic items," said an agent. "Increased awareness and information from the community will allow us to make more arrests. The public play an important role in our work in this area."

This is backed-up by the guidelines issued by the Guardia Civil to help avoid having your home broken into. The advice states: "You should let your neighbours know when you're going away on holiday so they can watch your property for you and report anything suspicious." Other recommendations include leaving a light and radio on to give the impression of there being someone inside; keeping valuables out of view from the window; noting down serial numbers of expensive items; and installing a security system.

Alarms

According to Stafford Smith who fits security alarms in homes along the Costa del Sol, there has been an increase in demand for his services due to the up turn in burglaries. "Recently I fitted 14 alarms in one urbanisation within a three month period," he says. "Everyone you speak to knows someone who has been burgled or has been themselves. The recession has meant that lots of people have lost jobs and finding it difficult to get by so this type of crime has shot up. It's not just in one particular area, it seems to be on the increase everywhere, although properties that are more remote and have two accesses seem to be easier targets." Smith's experiences confirm the trend: "Most of our customers have had jewellery and purses stolen - things that they can get their hands on quickly. Things like TVs and DVD players are difficult to get out in a hurry and have little re-sale value these days."

Pie de foto: