0

REAL LIFE STORIES

Debbie Grimmond

Debbie is a 20-year-old Physics and Maths student at the University of Leeds. Her house - a four-storey terraced house in Headingley - was broken into at around 9pm on a Saturday night in November.

 

How did the burglar get into your house?
The burglar gained access by kicking in a basement window, which is partially hidden from view from the street. I was in my bedroom at the time (which is in the attic).
What happened following the incident?
The police came round about an hour after the incident. They stayed for about an hour, did a search of the property, asked what had been taken and took brief witness statements. They then helped us to activate the LoJack software which had previously been installed on the stolen laptops. My landlord came round to board up the broken window. We phoned the insurance companies the following day and had to provide proof of purchase for the stolen items. The police came round to dust for prints and a few days after that to take full witness statements. The police kept us updated with information about the stolen laptops as they were being traced.
What were the main concerns of your housemates when they realised their laptops had been stolen?
They were mainly concerned about having lost their photos and music on their laptops. Luckily they had hard copies or back-ups of coursework.
How would you explain what LoJack/Computrace is to other students?
It’s a piece of software which, when activated, allows the computer to be traced whenever it is connected to the Internet.
At the time of the burglary I didn't have the LoJack software on my computer (which wasn't stolen), but after having both of my friends' stolen laptops returned I got it installed very quickly. I very much doubt that the laptops would have been traced and consequently returned to their owners without the software.

 

 
Robert Bethell

Robert Bethell, 25, is studying an MA in Applied Translation at Leeds Uni. His end-of-terrace in Woodhouse was burgled in November 2009 after having a houseparty.


"I wasn't that surprised that we were burgled really, the party was a little out of control and the people who organised it were perhaps being a little naive about security. There were people in the street and the doors were open the whole time, anyone could have come in."

 

Although the party happened on the Friday night, the burglary wasn't in fact until around 7am the following morning while Robert and his housemates were asleep.

 

"My housemate's laptop and digital camera were taken, otherwise nothing was damaged. After the incident the Police came to visit, but informed us that this was such a regular occurence that there was very little chance of catching the culprit. The burglar probably gained access thorugh a window that had been left open to air out the house after the night before."

 

"Since this happened we've been more careful about having parties and realise that a burglar can enter at any time, and was probably watching the party waiting on the off-chance that anyone left a window open. We're careful to not leave windows open and also don't leave any valuables in shared areas of the house anymore."

 
Sophia James

 

Sophia James, 21, is LUU’s Equality and Diversity Officer and previously studied Politics and Sociology at Leeds University. Her house, not far from the Royal Park pub, was recently broken into on a Wednesday afternoon just before 4pm.
 
“I was in the house at the time, off work as I had swine flu. The burglar broke through the back door with relative ease in two attempts as only one of the back door locks had been applied because our landlady had been slow at giving us the keys for the others. As soon as I heard feet scutter in and no one say hello, I shouted “oi” and grabbed the head of the vacuum cleaner to bang on the stairs. When it went quiet downstairs I ran into my room, locked the door and called the police.”
 
Despite there being a Digibox, DVD player and a packaged, brand new Sony Walkman MP3 player in the lounge, the burglar didn’t take a thing.
 
“The police were great and within five minutes I had eight police officers running around my house. They didn't catch the burglar but since then we've had extra locks put on our doors by the landlady and I've got insurance (something I'd not done in previous years). We also always leave a light on so it never looks like we're out.”
 
Sophia had a really lucky escape. However, if her locks had been fitted properly in the first place, the intruder probably wouldn’t have got as far as they did. If there are any outstanding security issues with your house, make sure you write to your landlord or letting agent, listing what the problems are and how they should be resolved. Also if you’re not already insured, don’t wait until something like this happens to you before looking into it… by then it may be too late.
 
 
 
Joanna Hart

 

 
We always thought it would never happen to us. We’d heard of friends who’d been burgled and underestimated the disturbance that it caused.
We went downstairs one morning to find all the cupboard doors and the front door open. Two TVs, GHD straighteners, a Wii console with eight games, a laptop, a digital camera, £25 cash, our house keys and two sets of car keys were taken.
 
We’d opened a window when we came back from a night out and had forgotten to close it before we went to bed. We called the police and an officer came and took details of what had happened. She told us that another four houses had been broken into on our street that night. She also said that usually the thieves aren’t caught. The forensics police came later on to lift finger and foot prints.
 
Thankfully all the items taken were covered on everyone’s parents’ insurances, as we’d decided not to take out our own cover. The landlord was understanding and got our locks changed straightaway. We also moved the cars to another area in fear that the burglars would come back for them as they’d taken the keys.
 
Later that night the police called to say they’d caught two of the five thieves. The police came with the laptop and the TV in a police evidence bag for us to identify. We made statements and now have to wait and see whether they are proven guilty.
 
Although everyone was very supportive, we can’t forget that someone came into our house and went through all of our things, breaking items to get to what they wanted. Although we can claim things on the insurance we’re still having to get by without them for the time being, and the laptop and TV are being kept by the police as vital evidence so we’re unsure when they will be returned.
 
We have all learnt our lesson now and never leave rooms with the windows open!