Burglary fears on the rise
An increasing number of people live in fear that their house could be broken into, even while the number of burglaries has not risen substantially, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) reports.
The Bureau says that from its annual Veiligheids (Safety) Monitor it can tell that 12 percent of respondents feared a breaking and entering in 2013, which is two percent more than the year before.
“With 37 percent of the respondents saying that in 2013 they would sometimes feel unsafe, this number has remained the same as what it was in 2012. But 19 percent said they felt unease in their own neighborhoods; in 2012 this was 18 percent. More people (8.7 and 8.1 percent respectively) said that they do not open their doors at night anymore because it has gotten too dangerous,” the Bureau said.
CBS said the increase is probably linked to informational campaigns in which police aims to make people more aware about the risks they run. As part of these campaigns police distribute flyers with tips on how to prevent housebreakings.
Police in Brabant are currently advising carnival goers to take certain measures. “Don’t make carnival a party for burglars. If you are not going to be home for a few days, ask your neighbors, family and friends to keep watch and immediately report suspicious situations,” police say.
The Veiligheidsmonitor also mentioned crimes committed over the internet. It said that an increasing number of people report having made purchases via webshops, but never received what they paid for.
The Bureau said it were predominantly residents from Amsterdam (30%), mid Netherlands (21%) and The Hague (21 %) that reported having fallen prey often to people who commit these types of crimes. In the rest of the country these numbers remained the same as in 2012.
The Monitor said that the number of people who reported falling victim to skimming and identity theft, has actually gone down in 2013 in comparison to the year before. It also reported that the number of people who complained about nuisance from loitering youngsters, has gone down from seven to six percent.
