The number of summer cottage burglaries reported to the police has grown during the first part of this year compared to last year. According to police statistics, a total of 268 cases of summer cottage burglaries were reported in January–March this year. In 2019, 143 cases were reported in the same time frame.
- There has been an increase in districts with lots of summer cottages, such as Inland Finland, Southwest Finland, Tavastia, Eastern Finland and Southeast Finland, says Chief Superintendent Jyrki Aho from the National Police Board.
The situation in Lapland, Western Uusimaa and Helsinki is the same compared to last year. The number of cases in Oulu and Ostrobothnia has decreased compared to last year.
- There was a higher than normal increase right away in January to February, when the owners either themselves have visited their cottages and noticed the crimes, or the supervision of the cottage was given to someone else. In March, the numbers further increased, but this has also happened in previous years due to people starting the use of their summer cottages as usual. The damage is often revealed when the new summer cottage season is starting in spring, says Aho.
According to Aho, the items stolen from summer cottages are generally utility items such as tools and work machinery, mopeds and quad cycles, and trailers needed for transporting the above.
The police recommends resorting to neighbourly aid
The government has urged people not to travel to their summer cottages because of the coronavirus situation. The police is reminding of the importance of neighbourly aid and helping others during these exceptional times.
- Neighbourly aid is a good way to help: cottage owners should ask neighbours to keep an eye out for suspicious strangers and to contact the police if necessary. If your summer cottage is far away from your place of residence, and since travelling to summer cottages is not recommended at the moment, it is advisable to ask an acquaintance living close to the cottage to check up on the situation from time to time, says Jyrki Aho .
Aho reminds that damage and property loss can be prevented by not leaving valuables in the summer cottage.
- If any valuable items must be left, a record should be made of their identifiers and photos taken of them.
According to Aho, numerous summer cottage burglaries are committed by perpetrators, often with a substance abuse problem, who live locally and have broad experience in all kinds of property crime. The travel restrictions due to the coronavirus have reduced the numbers of cross-border crimes.
- These kind of criminals go around summer cottages once the summer cottage season is over and there is little active surveillance. They take what they can get. Victims should scan online marketplaces in case any familiar items appear for sale locally, says Aho.
Ways to prevent summer cottage burglaries :
- Agree with local residents that they will keep an eye out for security in the area, i.e. monitor the movements of suspicious persons and notify the police when necessary. When offenders notice that they have been spotted, they generally go elsewhere rather than stay in the area.
- Don’t leave any valuable items accessible. Remove everything valuable and interesting from the summer cottage. Don’t leave weapons, alcohol, electronics, power tools or anything else that is easy to sell on the black market or online.
- If you must leave valuable items at the summer cottage, record a description of them and of any unique identifiers that they may have. You might also indelibly label your property. There are devices available with which you can easily label items with a unique identifier.
- Leave the curtains open. Thieves will then be able to see from the outside that there is nothing worth stealing
- Burglar alarms, surveillance cameras and stickers and signs informing visitors of the same are an effective deterrent.
Watch the police advisory video (In Finnish)
