There's been at least 3 break-ins in our block of flats in the last 3 months.
It's probably more than this; none of those breakins have been reported.
I think people don't want to report it because they don't want to cause trouble and bring attention to the area. It's not something I fully understand.
This means there's a lack of information.
So what I want to do is share what I know here so perhaps it might not happen to you. I look to base my info on my realworld experiences rather than security company scaremongering.
1) Our door wasn't forced. There was no sign of entry. Because of this I believe the thief either had access to a key or jimmeyed the lock. If you only use a springloaded lock it's extremely easy to jiggle open if you know how. I can't stress this enough. Never use a springloaded lock. Lesson 1: use the deadlock. It's a very basic thing but it makes a world of difference
2) We have security camera on the lobby door. Nothing will stop people from holding the door open to others, letting in my buzzer and other tricks so don't try to get people to not hold the door open, you only alienate people. Basically you have to consider you flat door as like being on the street only worse because it's offers more coverage to the thief and a sense that they've got an opportunity.
Lesson 2: The door and porter is no security. And don't trust the porter.
3) If it was such that the thief had access to the keys bear in mind that the porter has a copy of all the keys. They are known to lend these out to people you haven't approved. When one forum member came back early they found a couple galavanting in thier flat.
Lesson 3: The porters keys are your security. It doesn't matter how trustworthy they are or how friendly; it matters how secure thier keys are. Does the porter demand access or can we fit out own lock? Could the porters key be inside a small key safe to prevent someone from copying the key and putting it back? Could there be a time delay on the lock so the porter can only access your room if they need to at times only they know?
4) Some other little things I've noticed: The shutters tend to be the thing alarmed, not the windows. In our case the thief was in and out quickly, they didn't search properly. Anything that might have taken a bit longer to find was alright. They took a very old laptop, cash on the side that was for rent, dollars savings in a draw and a digital camera with all our photos on it. Lesson 4: Backup your photos to somewhere else. Lesson 5: Hide cash at a minimum. Not sure what else to suggest... I would say use a bank deposit box... while that is better I wonder if it's worth it; in Argentina especially the banks haven't learnt from the Corralito and are lending again, there's a possibility your box could be raided (a load got raided in London actually last year by the police and items went missing...). An option is then Uruguay and then that's a pain to get to. If you go the route of a deposit box at home bear in mind you could be beaten over the head for the code or they could take the whole thing away along with the concrete it's attached to? In our case we didn't have a lot to take so we were alright in that sense. Lesson 6: If you haven't got much, you haven't got much to lose. Kind of obvious but it was nice to know that putting up with that ancient computer paid dividends in the end.
So that's what I know. The main thing for us is get that door security in order. So what lessons have you got for us too?
It's hard for me to get more information because people in these flats aren't sharing info and my Spanish sucks. The police don't know either so they don't have that information to help them in thier work.
Hope this helps. I don't think there's any reason to worry if you take precautions. It's a bummer to have to unlock 2 locks but the main message I'm saying here is do it.
-j
It's probably more than this; none of those breakins have been reported.
I think people don't want to report it because they don't want to cause trouble and bring attention to the area. It's not something I fully understand.
This means there's a lack of information.
So what I want to do is share what I know here so perhaps it might not happen to you. I look to base my info on my realworld experiences rather than security company scaremongering.
1) Our door wasn't forced. There was no sign of entry. Because of this I believe the thief either had access to a key or jimmeyed the lock. If you only use a springloaded lock it's extremely easy to jiggle open if you know how. I can't stress this enough. Never use a springloaded lock. Lesson 1: use the deadlock. It's a very basic thing but it makes a world of difference
2) We have security camera on the lobby door. Nothing will stop people from holding the door open to others, letting in my buzzer and other tricks so don't try to get people to not hold the door open, you only alienate people. Basically you have to consider you flat door as like being on the street only worse because it's offers more coverage to the thief and a sense that they've got an opportunity.
Lesson 2: The door and porter is no security. And don't trust the porter.
3) If it was such that the thief had access to the keys bear in mind that the porter has a copy of all the keys. They are known to lend these out to people you haven't approved. When one forum member came back early they found a couple galavanting in thier flat.
Lesson 3: The porters keys are your security. It doesn't matter how trustworthy they are or how friendly; it matters how secure thier keys are. Does the porter demand access or can we fit out own lock? Could the porters key be inside a small key safe to prevent someone from copying the key and putting it back? Could there be a time delay on the lock so the porter can only access your room if they need to at times only they know?
4) Some other little things I've noticed: The shutters tend to be the thing alarmed, not the windows. In our case the thief was in and out quickly, they didn't search properly. Anything that might have taken a bit longer to find was alright. They took a very old laptop, cash on the side that was for rent, dollars savings in a draw and a digital camera with all our photos on it. Lesson 4: Backup your photos to somewhere else. Lesson 5: Hide cash at a minimum. Not sure what else to suggest... I would say use a bank deposit box... while that is better I wonder if it's worth it; in Argentina especially the banks haven't learnt from the Corralito and are lending again, there's a possibility your box could be raided (a load got raided in London actually last year by the police and items went missing...). An option is then Uruguay and then that's a pain to get to. If you go the route of a deposit box at home bear in mind you could be beaten over the head for the code or they could take the whole thing away along with the concrete it's attached to? In our case we didn't have a lot to take so we were alright in that sense. Lesson 6: If you haven't got much, you haven't got much to lose. Kind of obvious but it was nice to know that putting up with that ancient computer paid dividends in the end.
So that's what I know. The main thing for us is get that door security in order. So what lessons have you got for us too?
It's hard for me to get more information because people in these flats aren't sharing info and my Spanish sucks. The police don't know either so they don't have that information to help them in thier work.
Hope this helps. I don't think there's any reason to worry if you take precautions. It's a bummer to have to unlock 2 locks but the main message I'm saying here is do it.
-j
