BAFFLING THE THIEF

Taranaki Daily News, 26 August 1931, Page 15

BAFFLING THE THIEF

AN EX-BURGLAR’S ADVICE

INTRUDER EASILY ALARMED. MANY SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS. “If people were not so careless, and if they took a few simple precautions, they could beat the burglar every time,” said an ex-burglar, when discussing the number of minor house-breaking cases in Auckland, states the New Zealand Herald. “1 have been at the game myself and know all the tricks, so that I know what I am talking about. “When a burglar is inside a house he 'is just a bundle of nerves, far more frightened than the person would be who woke up and saw him, and it needs only a noise to make him run for his life. It does not matter whether he makes the noise himself or whether someone in the house makes it,' his first thought is to run. A woman’s scream will make him take to his heels. But ho would never be able to break in at all if a few simple precautions were taken. “Women aro very careless at bridge and dance parties. A burglar knows that the first thing a hostess will do is to take her women guests to a bedroom or other room, .where they will leave their coats and handbags. He knows a party is being held, for most likely several motor-cars are outside. WATCHING lIIS CHANGE. “When the party is on he enters the ground by the side gate, if there is one, and leaves his boots in a hiding place. Probably lie has an accomplice who stays outside on watch, for they often work in pairs. The first thing he docs i<s to find a lighted window, which tells him in which room the party is being held. He stops there and listens —hears the conversation and other sounds—and as soon as everyone has settled down he goes round to a bedroom window or back door and enters. He has been . quite cool while all this lias been going on, but the moment he is inside' every nerve is tense.- It is easy for him to steal the handbags b»n<* on the bed. This could be prevented if women would take their handbags into the room where they are holding the party.” The most common type of thief will not break into a house unless his task is made easy by the carelessness of tlie householder. But the ex-burglar stressed the need of precautions in securing a door, pointing out tho efficacy of a bolt. “Should a door be fitted with an ordinary bolt, placed well out of reach, say, half-way between the lock and the floor, there is nothing the thief can do to open the door, and he has to go away disappointed,” ho said.

AT,ARMS AND BAFFLING DEVICES.

“Some people have an electric alarm bell placed under a floor board just inside the door, so that it will ring the moment a foot is placed on the board. If a burglar is suspicious he places his foot down toward the hinge side of the door to avoid, setting off the alarm. If you place the bell in a line with the middle of the door, he is pretty sure, to tread on it.

“The ordinary type of door lock can be picked easily with a safety pin. A way to overcome this is to leave the key in the door and give it au extra halfturn after the door has been locked. In that way it acts as an obstruction and the burglar cannot remove it. A strong bolt will prevent him from forcing the door with a jemmy. “You can do many things to stop a burglar climbing through a window. He will never attempt to cut out a large pane of glass and squeeze through, since a diamond cutter always squeaks on a large sheet of glass. He always opens the window. If the window is one that slides up and down, you can. prevent. it being opened in several ways. It is quite simple to bore a hole through the woodwork along the top of the lower- sash and half-way through the wood along the. bottom of tho upper sash. A long nail pushed into the hole will stop any burglar from opening it. OTHER SIMPLE MEASURES. ■ “Another ■ good thing is. to. insert a clothes peg or other- piece of wood as a ■wedge, between the : two halves: of the window. It is no good, putting this behind the glass, where: it can be seen, ortho burglar will push it out with ease. It must be placed at one: side, where the frame hides it. A window left, open slightly to admit air can.be wedged in this fashion. Another good thing which I have seen is a small handbell tied to the window with string that has been placed over a small hook,.As soon as the window opens tho bell -.rings. It is very simple, but it startles the burglar, and that is all that is wanted.

“A lot of houses now. .have easement windows that fasten with. a perforated bar of metal that drops over a pin. To stop a burglar opening one of these all tliat is needed is to place a..bolt on the woodwork at the hinge side and a bolteye on the corresponding side of the window. A window fastened like that will defy any burglary since the bolt is too far back* for him to reach..

“Burglars do not climb in bedroom windows while people are asleep inside. They. enter by way of the bedroom door, after haying first entered the house, by the back door for preference. A sure way of keeping them out of a bedroom is to have a padlock on the inside of the door.”