Broken into whilst asleep upstairs.

elsien

Hi Angel 777 - sorry to hear about what happened to you, sounds really scary.
We had something similar at work - I work in an home for adults with learning disabilities, with one staff staying overnight, and there was an attempted break in - tried to get in a bedroom window (it's a bungalow) The police didn't get there for several hours, and when I phoned to complain they were very nice, but said that we were lower priority at the time due to staffing levels -all the police on duty at the time were dealing with a fight in a pub, and they literally had no-one to send. Even if we'd been top priority, they still have up to about 10 mins to get to us.
Sounds like maybe the same thing happened to you - you were just unlucky to have the break in when they'd got other stuff going on. If you think their attitude stinks though, you could phone the sergeant and let them know - might make you feel a bit better if nothing else.
If it makes you feel happier about going back to your flat, get the crime prevention officer out to see if there's any way security can be improved.
We got peace of mind from some of the things they said, and put a few other things in place that helped.
Took a while though before we managed to sleep properly at night - hope you manage to find your way through it as well.

mrcow

You poor thing.

All I can say about the police response is that your experience certainly doesn't match my experiences of what we've had round here. I'm a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator for my area and we had a resident interrupt an intruder/burglar one Saturday night a few weeks back. The police were there within 12 minutes and by the time I was called an hour later, they already had sniffer dogs out and officers were knocking door to door.

I think it very much depends on who is on duty and what area you live in, and also what other calls they have at the time. Even though you didn't have a crime reference number, there should have been an incident number that you could have been given.

On a practical level, fitting window locks and a strong door bar (rather than a chain) will help you feel more secure. Do you have security lights outside? Also, you can activate an alarm to monitor activity downstairs whilst you're in bed. I personally would put a baseball bat under my bed (but that's a very "me" thing to do). You can also buy "safe cans" in which to hide valuables such as car keys or spare house keys.

You absolutely did the right thing in not confronting the culprits. The chances are that they will not be back as they know you will have upped your security. I would recommend that you have someone staying with you if possible in the early days back home just so that you get used to it. They sound like opportunists rather than professionals as they have just dumped your car and have not used credit cards etc.

I'm so sorry that this has happened. I've never had a house break in, although we've had our car targeted and a shed broken into. It just feels like you've been violated.

I hope that things get easier with time.

Somerset

It'll be ok. Same thing happened to me except we slept through it and didn't discover till the next morning. From memory the police were ok ( not great ) but fairly sympathetic. The insurance company ( N.U. ) were absolutely awful ( like you car keys and car stolen ). Our thief was caught because his mate left a document with his name on in the car which we found and gave to the police. Break-in Oct, thief got a tagging order the following Jan ( known house breaker & car thief !!! but only got done for the car theft ) and N.U. didn't repair/return the car till the following June ( 9 months !! )

Your's was scarier than ours and the stress is causes is unbelievable. The thief never pays - you do. But EVENTUALLY it all gets sorted and you get over it. Best Wishes.

haylibo

Angel777, how awful for you. Have you thought of getting in touch with victim support, they are easy to find on google (would post a link but my lovely DD convinced me to buy a Macbook and I can't use any of the controls...copy and paste eludes me!) and offer support and advice.
I haven't had any dealings with them myself but it seems that every time you read of a case such a yours in the news where police are incapable of responding it is VS which helps to pick up the pieces for the victims.
Hope they get caught and you get some resolution.
Hayles

Stephb1986_2

aw angel im so sorry to hear you've been broken into its awful isnt it. when my parents have been away ive gone to bed with a can of deoderant and a golf club i also let my dog roam the house. Im sorry you dont feel safe in your place now

Big hugs and kisses

thinking of you

Stephb xx

Js_Other_Half

So sorry to hear your bad news.

I was staying in a hotel once when got broken into in the middle of the night. Wedding ring, wallet and car all gone...so i can empathise a little.

Do take up any offers of beefing your security up - our council has a free scheme whereby after a burglary they will come and fit security lights/extra locks etc

<hugs>

Mumstheword

Well done in locking yourself away with your phone, best thing to do.

How's about getting some heavy duty bolts on your doors, extra window locks too - those practical things could help you to feel safe in your home. And also the security lights that have been suggested, as these will act as a deterrent to burglars. (beware, tho, to have them switch on for the local wildlife walking past lol)

I always leave things like car keys in a cupboard near the door. If someone wants my car, I'd rather they take it without fuss than disturb me trying to find keys!!

Then, you need to take a good look at the burglary stats in your area. You need to persuade yourself that, although terrifying, it is highly unlikely to be a weekly occurrence for you!

DUKE

Very sorry to hear you've been broken into Angel777. Someone attempted to beak into mine last year at 2 in the afternoon. They even had the cheek to knock the door first. I chased them off (I'm not normally that brave) as I couldn't believe that they thought they could come into my home and take everything that we've worked hard for. They had a car waiting down the bottom of the road too. A neighbour saw the car and had part of the reg number, and I had a discription of them, but the police didn't want to know. I couldn't settle for ages after and kept looking through the windows for them ... Good for you for keeping safe in the bathroom. They probably wont be back but you have to do what you have to do to feel safe.

Dave_®f©

What a terrible thing to happen to you Angel. It must have been terrifying! Just as well you had two mobile phones though....

chris100682

Jeepus Creepus, that's terrible! SCUMBAGS!!! :mad:

I really hope you're ok?

We live in Chester City Centre and have had our backyard broken into a number of times, I remember feeling like !!!!!! and in a state of shock knowing someone had been on my property and taken 'my' things. It got to such a sad state of affairs that I even resorted to covering my back wall with burglar paint and glass. My neighbour told me I'd get in trouble if a burglar was to hurt get hurt on the glass trying to get onto my property... how pathetic is that.

We also had my brothers cars broken into about 3 years ago, my OH woke me to say she could hear tapping, I opened the window and to my horror there was a thieving little !!!!!! breaking into my brothers car - casually looking through his CDs. I then raised the alarm with my brother who was asleep downstairs and we both ran out to chase the b*stard....

Now I know this isn't a laughing matter but imagine what the thief was thinking when he saw two half naked lads running towards him screaming and shouting :eek: ... we never caught him as our bare feet let us down on the road! However, my brother got a look at him and recognised him from a year above in school... the police said without actual proof it was him there was nothing they could do... useless. Oh well, let's just say the next time my brother seen the lad again he wasn't running anywhere.

Really hope you're ok?

Take Care
Chris