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Gone fishing...burglars angling for your car keys 22.09.14

DO you have a tendency to leave your car or house keys on the hall table? New Garda figures show there were 200 cases where car keys where 'fished' through letterboxes last year by burglars using specially-adapted rods.
Jewellery to the value of €14.2m and €7.8m in cash were also taken from Irish homes in the last 12 months. In total, property worth €35.1m was stolen between July 2013 and July 2014 from households, according to figures released today by An Garda Siochana.
The statistics also show that the majority of winter burglaries take place between 5pm and 11pm; the most common entry points are front door (29 per cent), rear window (26 per cent), rear door (22 per cent) while 20 per cent of burglaries take place through an unsecured door or window.
Sergeant Kelvin Courtney of the National Crime Prevention Unit said darker evenings and lax security can make it easier for burglars.
"The longer evenings can help burglars spot if people are not home. For instance, they can easily see if a house is empty if rooms are unlit, curtains are open, and there is no car in the driveway. It also makes it easier for them to enter a residence without being seen,” said Sgt Courtney.
Gardaí have now advised householders to take steps to protect their property with the evenings getting longer and burglaries typically increasing by 25 per cent during winter.
- Secure all doors and windows
- Light up your home and use timer switches
- Store keys safely and away from windows and letterboxes
- Record details of valuables and don’t keep large cash amounts at home
- Use your alarm, even when you are at home
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