Holidays: prevent burglary in your student residence

During the summer vacation, the number of home burglaries increases sharply. Student residences are no exception.

The National Student Union (LSVb) and the Centre for Crime Prevention and Security (CVV) recently asked for more attention towards summer break-ins in student residences and launched an information campaign. DUWO administrators also recognise the problem and relate some of their experiences below. Also: Tips to prevent burglaries in your house.

The LSVB requested police criminality figures and collected reports from local student unions. This shows that summer brings about a real wave of burglaries in student residences. The LSVb signals the fact that students keep their windows and doors wide open in the summer as a major cause. An outright invitation for burglars. The Hague caretaking team leader Sander Jongerling, also sees this: “It is indeed our experience that students take these things very easy. You keep your window open with the laptop on your desk practically inviting somebody to take it. And additionally, doors are not properly closed on the night lock when leaving. This is why in some complexes we place a sticker on the inside of the door with ‘do not forget to lock’. Still, it is difficult to enforce.”

Shadows
“But one of the biggest problems is that students put something between the general access doors of a complex to be able to walk through easily,” says Albertien Wijma, caretaking team leader in Delft. “Hence there are also many unknown people entering the building. And you also have shadows – people who follow you as you enter the entrance door of the building. Furthermore, the door is often opened for unknown people who ring random doorbells with some kind of excuse. If the residents were to pay more attention, the vast majority of burglaries could really be avoided.” 

DUWO often receives questions from students to provide burglary-proof facilities. However, they are not standard equipment in the student residence. Albertien Wijma: “If they want it, they have to pay for it themselves. Things like door guards, burglar-proof strips, etc., cannot always be applied in all cases, for example, such as on plastic...”   

Tips to prevent burglaries in your student residence:

• Lock your (room) door. Turn the key at least once. So burglars cannot open your door with a piece of plastic.
• Do not place anything between the threshold and general access doors to keep them open for convenience (for example, during a summer barbecue in the garden).
• Make sure nobody shadows you when you enter your complex or student housing. Do not open the door to unknown people and, if possible, talk to any unknown people you see in the complex.
• Never write an address on your keychain.
• Make sure your precious items (laptop, iPad, etc.) are not in plain sight. Put them away before you leave your home.
• Do not announce that you are on holiday on your voicemail or social media.
• Ask a co-resident to empty your mailbox once a week while you are on vacation.

For more information, you can also look at:
www.politie.nl 
www.politiekeurmerk.nl