Beware of thieves that strike in the rain

We are having a rainy season again with rain mostly in the late afternoon and evenings. This is a good time for thieves. Because the heavy rain muffles out sounds and people are more likely to be in their houses instead of outside.

A friend told me that his opposite neighbour had a break-in case during a heavy rain. The thieves came and took away his tv and other big and heavy electronic equipment while he was out during the rain and none of the neighbours were any the wiser because they didn’t hear due to the heavy rain and they were all inside their homes so no one knew.

Well, thieves struck like lighting in the rain in my area during the weekend. They came and took the iron and steel drain covers outside the houses during the rain leaving big wide gaping holes in front of our houses and lots of inconvenience to home owners. (The gaps are dangerous to young children and vehicles not to mention the inconvenience and expense of getting it fixed).  About 10 houses in my row were hit and another 16 houses in another street. They did this at around 5pm in broad daylight. Imagine how bold and brazen they are to just walk up to the fronts of houses and take something that does not belong to them.

My drain cover had been stolen before and I fixed those that had screws on so mine was not stolen. But my left and right neigbours and their neighbours and neighbours all had theirs stolen. They took those that had no screws because time is off the essence. I think they were off before you can say lightning. No one saw them. Not even the guards who were supposed to be doing their rounds because during the heavy rain, they would  most likely have been trying to find shelter instead of going ronda ronda.

Sigh. I just hate it. How the crime rate has risen in recent years. Now, I don’t feel safe anymore, not even in my home which is supposed to be a safe haven. Not everyone can afford to live in gated and guarded communities but even if you were, don’t be too happy. There are inside jobs too. One condominium manager told me that they had to have guards making rounds every hour on every floor even though the tenants disliked it but they had no choice since the thefts come from inside jobs ie from people who rent out the units for several months to do their dirty job. It is hard for them to control that because the so called “tenants” dress smartly and look just like any other tenant, not thieves.

Thefts, snatch thefts etc are so common these days that I am sure you have probably witnessed one or has had someone close to you experienced it before. Care to share? We have no choice but to be more aware and alert of our surroundings from the moment we step out of our houses.