Season of break-ins and robberies: Thieves are watching you and calling your phone

According to statistics, most apartment and house break-ins occur during the holiday season and on weekends when you are not at home. With the Christmas and New Year holidays approaching, thieves will seize every opportunity to carry out a robbery.

In the past few days, several apartment break-ins have occurred in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Dobrinja, and according to information available to the Patria agency, thieves are using two methods: following the apartment owner and calling their phone number. Thieves often work in pairs and track potential targets by monitoring their movements and how long they are away from the apartment or house. If possible, change your route and the time you leave for work.

The Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton advises citizens that even if they are leaving their apartment for a short time, they should not leave windows or balcony doors open, because thieves skillfully use such opportunities, enter your apartment unnoticed, and in a very short time take money, gold jewelry, weapons, or valuable technical goods.

In another case, if you are preparing to travel, inform your neighbors so they can keep an eye on your apartment.

- Do not lower the blinds on the windows all the way, because thieves also monitor that. If they notice that the blinds have been down for several days, they will immediately conclude that no one is in the apartment - advise from the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton.

It would be good to entrust money and valuable jewelry to close relatives for safekeeping or rent a safe deposit box at a bank. It is also recommended to photograph jewelry and valuables for identification and easier recovery. Write down the serial numbers of expensive devices (technical goods).

In any case, additional protection such as security doors or an alarm system is recommended, as well as locking the building entrance. One option is also to insure your property.

Irfan Nefić, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, told Patria that in the past nine months there have been 464 aggravated burglaries in residential buildings.

- If citizens live on the ground floor, it would be good to install metal grilles on the balcony and windows. If citizens notice a suspicious person or persons, they can call 122. We have had several cases where break-ins were prevented thanks to the timely reaction of both citizens and police officers - said Nefić.