Protection

[Wilko]

My OH has become increasingly anxious with regard to the increasing number of break ins around here, often associated with violence. I'm getting a bit old to handle 2-3 20 year olds especially as many are armed. We are rural but not isolated, nearest neighbours at 300m I imagine there are others on here who share the same fears and wonder what steps you have taken to protect yourselves...........guns, tasers, steel bars ?

Interested to read your comments.

Rgds W

[Sprogster]

I have recently had a sophisticated GSM monitored alarm system installed that is activated/deactivated by a remote control unit with panic button!

Now been advised to add electrical gates, so OH does not have to get out of car to open gates at night. In our area we have had several break ins where the house owner is jumped at gunpoint by the thieves at the gates.

All this in a nice quite area as well, but France has a higher burglary, gun crime and murder rate than the UK, contrary to common misperceptions by some Brit expats!

[suein56]

[quote user="Wilko"]My OH has become increasingly anxious with regard to the increasing number of break ins around here, often associated with violence.

Interested to read your comments.[/quote]

Even in our very peaceful corner of France there are break-ins. Following such an incident at a friend's house - on the main road, the outskirts of a small town, market day - an alarm was suggested but declined. The most reassuring answer proved to be electrically operated gates with intercom and remote. The police approved as the locked gates make it so very awkward for potential burglars to negotiate.

Sue

[Will]

Only yesterday I was reading an article about how the wealthy British were wanting to move to France because of the lower taxes and fewer cases of burglary and crime. The authors suggested that although they may be wrong about the taxation, they had a point about the burglary because official statistics showed France was a much safer place.

It must be true, it was in the Connexion.

[idun]

We had the usual times of the year when the most burglarys were in our village, mid summer when people were away and just before christmas. There would ofcourse be some during the rest of the year, but not that many.

The worst thing was pickpockets, hand bag snatchers. My husband would come home from walking the dog at least once a week with someone's abandoned bag hooked on his little finger. And then after the first few times, we were expected to take it several miles to the nearest gendarmerie. As people's papers were usually in these bags, we knew that they had to be handed in. However, I wasn't wasting diesel and started dumping them at the Mairie.  He even found a safe once, the gendarmes who came out a full week later told him that is was OK and they hadn't got into it....... bits of paper all over the place and a big hole in the back of the safe, which they didn't notice. As usual the gendarmes in our area seemed to have IQ's in double figures.

 

EDIT, there are plenty of ways of securing your property. Have you asked your insurance company if they do anything? we were with the MAIF and they did. I think I would do is put a bolt on the door and locks on your shutters.

[Quillan]

Assuming you live in France all the time I might suggest something that statistically dramatically reduces the chance of you being burgled or attacked in your own home plus it might enhance your life in other ways, get you out and about and possibly improve your health a little.

Basically get a dog. Not a big ferocious thing just a medium sized mutt from the likes of the SPA. Better still get a puppy from them. It will cost you around 80 Euros to buy plus of course your running costs. Your get great enjoyment plus once people know you have a dog (don't be worried about letting it bark at the gate when somebody turns up or when the bell rings) they will think twice about burgling your house. Most of the houses round where I live have now been burgled yet strangely the ones that have dogs have not been touched.

[idun]

My friend Monique's dogs would bite you even if she was saying no and had them on the lead. Was she burgled, oh yes she was. French lady and lives in France. She was one of those that was simply burgled at no particular time of year.

Dogs,I'm not sure about that.

[Sprogster]

According to the French police, the trend is for occupied properties to be increasingly targeted, as the thieves want cash, or debit/credit cards and will extract the pin numbers from the householders, under threat of violence. Apparently, electrical and household goods no longer have much street value, due to the recession and substantive reduction over recent years in the prices of new flat screen TV's and other electrical goods.

A monitored alarm system acts as a good deterrent, as thieves are more likely to go for a house which does not have one.

Quillan is absolutely right about dogs, but not a practical solution for everyone.

[Val_2]

Called Housejacking and very popular here in Brittany this year. The thieves target middle to older age people usually either in their car and make them take them to their home or they enter the house and take them prisoner until they have enough "loot" and this is done with menaces such as knives or guns. I suggest people make sure their homes are as safe as they can be, doors and windows kept shut and locked and all times and if you go out, leave a light on a night. Dogs are not a deterent unless they are running loose outside and are of the Doberman/Rottweiller type. My dog would want a good belly massage, followed by some biscuits and then go off to his bed if anyone broke in,he certainly wouldn't know that his teeth are dangerous weapons more for crunching his biscuits up with

[YCCMB]

I'm interested in  your comments, Val_2. I wonder if you  notice any particular irony after your comments the other day about living in leafy Bucks?

[Val_2]

Crime still lower here than where my dad lives in Bucks. I wander around my village most nights in the dark after 9pm with the dog and am not the slightest bit afraid but Dad locks the door all day and when its dark, puts on all outside lights and upstairs landing lights. My sisters are the same,so many burlgaries going on around them too. Reading the local press for the old town today, its full of nothing but crime stories. The french gendarmes have a better rate of solving crime and catching offenders too and the judges don't just slap their wrists either!

[YCCMB]

You don't say where your father lives, but if it's Bucks, then it's Thames Valley police area, same as me.

From their own website:

During 2010/11, crime across Thames Valley fell by seven per cent overall

The number of offenders being charged with serious crimes  increased significantly.

In 2010/11, violence against a person fell by over 3,000 offences

across the area .The first quarter for 2011/12 shows a further reduction of

29.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Burglary, robbery and vehicle crime: during 2010/11

there were 5,400 fewer of these offences across the Force. The number of

offenders being charged with these offences also increased

significantly last year. In the first quarter of 2011/12 we have seen a further reduction

of 13.4 per cent in the number of offences committed compared to the

same period last year

 19 per cent reduction in

anti-social behaviour incidents in 2010/11 compared with the year

before.

Considering the population density of the Thames Valley compared to Bled/s/Oued in rural Brittany, it's not altogether surprising that there's more crime in the former, but that doesn't necessarily make it more dangerous. I walk happily around MY village late at night (no dog) and I'm not the slightest bit afraid, either.

Do you have any evidence that the Gendrames have a better rate of solving crime? I know that, in my area, the gendarmerie is only open two half-days a week and there is a small cohort of Gendarmes covering a very large geographical area. Last time (the only time) I was in the Gendarmerie doing some interpreting, there were two Gendrames on duty and the phone rang many times whilst we were there, either remaining unanswered or being answered and the caller told that the gendarmes were busy and couldn't respond. That didn't exactly fill me with confidence. When my neighbours' son was killed in a road accident, the Gendarme dealing with the case went on  holiday that evening and it was (I couldn't believe it) THREE WEEKS before they had a visit from anyone  from the Gendarmerie...

[Patf]

Keep as little as possible in the way of cash, jewellery, etc in the house. They arent likely to target a house unless they think they will find something.

On the other hand, everyone has credit cards, I think I would just give them the number.

An american couple in a small town near here were held at gunpoint to get their card numbers for ages. The robbers were caught eventually.

[Sprogster]

Val 2, the problem with the French press is that it is effectively censored and the local press rarely reports on personal crime, as it is bad for tourism!

At the moment in the UK there is a lot of criticism about the UK press being unaccountable. However, in France strict privacy laws, the pervasive influence of business and the authorities means France does not have a free press as we would understand.

Surprised that the Gendarmerie would get involved in your area, as where I live burglaries fall under the domaine of the Police Municipale

According to official stats the murder rate and gun crime in France is higher than the UK

[Stan Streason]

Nothing protects against the determined professional thief who has targeted your house.  Just make sure you take the precautions your insurance company insists upon and make sure you are more than adequately covered.  Such thieves are fairly rare unless you display ostentatious wealth.

Dogs do protect against the petty opportunist thief.  They just move on to the next property with less risk to themselves.

Most houses in our small UK village have been burgled at some time or another but never us.  We have 2 big dogs both of whom are as gentle as anything with humans but one hates other dogs with a vengance.  If anyone in our villasge was asked - they would all know about our dog who barks like crazy when people walk past just in case they have a dog of their own with them.

It cannot be total coincedence that we have never been touched.

(now if that isnt tempting fate....)

[NormanH]

Don't forget the part played by language in this.

Face to face with the intruders it might well be easier for most people to handle the situation in their native language...

I am not too worried about what they might take, but don't much fancy being tortured for my PIN code.

[auxadrets]

I see that Enquete d'Action on W9 at 15.00 today is entitled 'Robberies, break-ins, attacks: how far can you go to protect yourself?'

It might give you some ideas or, alternatively, deter you from some of your more radical plans.

Angela

[Patf]

There was a report in yesterdays Depeche about a burglary ring uncovered in Toulouse and Colomiers, a suburb of Toulouse.

The burglars are college students ie 11 to 14, and 2 jewellers in Toulouse have bought the stolen goods.

Evidently one boys parents found a stache of cash and gold jewellery in their sons bedroom and reported it to the police who uncovered the network.

Very public spirited of them to shop their own son.

[Gardengirl]

Our small town in France has the usual crimes committed, with fairly regular torching of cars etc reported  by the local paper, and even a baker was robbed in the early hours while busy making the baguettes etc. But I don't know personally of anyone who has had a break-in who lives in town, whether in apartments or houses , full or part time residents, French, English or anything else.

However, I do know people from nearby villages who have suffered from burglaries etc; one French member of our walking group had a lot of jewellery and other valuables taken, plus a lovely Jag. She said several of her neighbours had been burgled, including a couple of houses with barking dogs! They didn't bark in at least one case, as the people were in the house at the time and didn't hear a thing. Our friend is in the process of moving, as she can't bear the thought of people having been in their house going through their things. They are quite wealthy, but she says they won't ever buy expensive watches, jewellery again. A Dutch couple in another nearby village were stopped by a couple of youngsters in a car just by their home, and her handbag was snatched. She was very shaken and heavily bruised when we saw her about a week afterwards; neighbours had come rushing out when alerted by their shouts, but no-one was caught. The police told them they would have been from the city of Nimes, which isn't far away;  they reckoned a few had been caught, all from there.

[suein56]

[quote user="gardengirl "]. But I don't know personally of anyone who has had a break-in who lives in town, whether in apartments or houses , full or part time residents, French, English or anything else.

[/quote]

Our neighbours asked some of their friends - a couple - round to dinner. Much later they were astonished to receive a phone call from said friends who, on returning home from the dinner, had discovered they had been burgled. Nothing large was taken but there was damage done in breaking into the property. The usual was nicked ie cash, jewellery, laptop etc. The thing is it takes precisely 4 minutes to get from our impasse to their friend's house in the town ... a distance of just less than 2 kms.

Cambriolage is widespread so be aware and lock up.

Sue

[pachapapa]

On monday the gendarmes stopped to chat and enquire if I had seen or heard of young male with a scooter seeking to sell bogus calendars.

They advised me to keep a look out for any suspicious characters.

Such calendar thefts are apparently more frequent and have been featured on TV news.

[Chancer]

[quote user="NormanH"]Don't forget the part played by language in this.
Face to face with the intruders it might well be easier for most people to handle the situation in their native language...
I am not too worried about what they might take, but don't much fancy being tortured for my PIN code.
[/quote]

Yes but it would be like torture for the robbers to try and understand a PIN number given my someone with language difficulties [:P]

[Quillan]

When I went to buy a shotgun a few years back and filled in the register I was most surprised at how many women had bought hand guns. Me and my shotgun were the only different sex a gun on the page, the rest were all handguns owned by women. One page must contain about 30 names.

[just john]

[quote user="Quillan"]When I went to buy a shotgun a few years back and filled in the register I was most surprised at how many women had bought hand guns. Me and my shotgun were the only different sex a gun on the page, the rest were all handguns owned by women. One page must contain about 30 names.[/quote]

Gosh, I hope you told Wooly about this[:P]