Apartment breakins - what I've learnt. And your experiences?

[allcraz]

My suggestion is the next time you move, look for an apartment with no portero. I know there are more good ones than bad ones out there, but how are you supposed to know which is which? And it was good to point out that perhaps it's not the portero but someone who gets ahold of his keys - no portero = no extra keys lying around. ONLY 1 out of at least 50 break-ins I've been told about over the last 5 years happened in a building that doesn't have a portero. So yes, of course it can still happen, but your chances are much slimmer. That's my advice, and I can guarantee you that for as long as we are here, we won't be living in a building with a portero. In 5 years I've never had one, and I've never felt the need. Oh and not to mention - your expensas are around 75% less!

 

[PhilipDT]

Having nothing of value worth stealing seems like a kind of sad "solution" to the problem of crime.

 

[starlucia]

The mother of a friend of mine is a shrink with a practice in Once. She used to keep her patients' cash payments in a box in her desk drawer, and after a while, began to wonder if she'd been miscounting/misplacing some bills. Turns out that the friendly, surprisingly-agile portero, after seeing her leave for lunch every day, had been climbing into her office through the window and helping himself to a daily cash stipend. So close yer windows when you leave, people, even if it's just to the corner for a pack of smokes

 

[LostinBA]

The wife of one of our porteros used to clean my apartment until 2000 pesos went missing...

 

[xtrasback]

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.

 

[CanuckleHead]

Unfortunately like in most big cities around the globe these crimes are a fact of life and the best protection is simply an unpredictable schedule...

For a low tech solution, I think if you even suspect that your portero is not 'on the level' it is a good idea to leave a little invisible tape on the door frame OUT OF THE EYELINE... (don't put it right above the lock, lol) every now and again just to see if anyone is entering your flat while you are gone...

A little more High tech, if you know anyone coming to visit from home you might ask them to bring down a small personal alarm... They have many varieties of portable battery operated, non permanent devices with cameras, lights, alarms and motion sensors... They take jpeg's or avi's with storage enough to last over a week (sometimes more...) and have an audible alarm if you choose or simply record 'Teddy cam' style, with time stamps, if you want to catch a thieving portero red handed. They're very cheap... Might even be able to get them here... I don't know...

But, the really scary home invasions the ones when they know you are home... or are counting on it...

 

[marksoc]

Ask your neighbors. My portero has been 17 years in this building, he is part of the building, and he will be until he retires. Everybody in this building can "put their hands in the fire" for him and his wife. Is nice to have somebody you can trust.

 

[jayjane]

Having an unpredictable schedule is a good one. I currently have one. I had a job opportunity for a full-time normal 9-5 gig recently and this is one of this first things I thought of.

Although I'd be helping my husband more than I do now with all the bills, it would just take one robber to render the extra pay useless. Not like we have a ton of nice stuff but well enough. Sad thought. Sad that when considering a job here one of my thoughts is if the pay for the job is worth leaving our place unattended on a regular schedule.

What does everyone do with their sliding glass doors by the way? They seem to have very flimsy locks here.

 

[xtrasback]

What does everyone do with their sliding glass doors by the way? They seem to have very flimsy locks here.

Place a rod (Sawn broom-handles work great) in the bottom track of the door to keep it from being opened.

 

[jayjane]

Does that work? The tracks are a bit different than at home though. Not as deep, makes me wonder if a bit of jiggling would dislodge the rod. Maybe not though.