Ease of access in two house burglaries

BURGLARIES were made easy for criminals in two incidents in the past week, when door locks slipped or keys were used. A black Dell laptop was stolen from the sitting room of a house at Oakdale Court on the Ennis Road, on Wednesday afternoon, February 1. “There was no evidence of forced entry so it would appear that either the lock slipped or that the burglar had a key,” said a garda spokesperson. A second burglary took place at an apartment at Newtown, Monaleen, between 1.30am and 9am on Thursday, February 2.

Gardaí believe that burglars in this case had a key to the front door.
A brown handbag, a quantity of cash and a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone were taken, as was the resident’s car, which has since been located.
“Latch bolt locks, such as are installed on many front doors do not offer a good level of security as they are prone to being slipped and are not very robust,” said the spokesperson.
“Five lever mortice locks are far more secure and, preferably, two of these locks should be installed on any front door that does not have a multi-point locking system.
“Locks in rented accommodation should be changed before new tenants move in, if there is any concern that the previous tenant may have retained or copied door keys.
“New tenants should always check with the landlord that this has been done”.