Break-ins.

[tetmeister]

I know this has been raised before,but my next door neighbour had another attempted break-in on tuesday night.Tried to force a window,but luckily the system we have both employed prevented entry,although they made a mess of his window.This is the 8th break-in,or attempted in this part of Ovacik this yr.Enoughs,enough,i ventured down to see the Mayor.Had a chat,told him I cant return to UK and leave my girlfriend and 4yr old,as they dont feel safe.Also told him  I have a good friend,recently widowed,who is living here in fear.
        The mayor promised to up the patrols by the jandarma,and apologised.Make no bones about it,chancers and tea-leaves are targetting occupied/unoccupied English properties.They will go to any length.I told the mayor through my pigeon Turkish and interpretor that I will maim any burglar who threatens my family or breaks-in to my castle.
        I am also writing to the main man in Mugla to make them aware,on the suggestion of the mayor.
        My points are;
           1/ Don't be sort soaped that this isn't a problem here,it is.
           2/ Be pro-active.Express your concerns in places other than this site,although this is a gr8 place to make others aware.
           3/Be vigilant.Apply common sense.Speak to neighbours.Keep an eye out for anyone "casing" properties,unusual faces etc.This is organised crime.
           4/ This is essentially a holiday/tourist area,with lots of goodies to be had.They are looking for small,easy disposed of items,upto and including smallish flat screen tv's,all wraped in your best bedspread.They want money,mobiles.They will rifle your knicker drawer girls.
           MY MESSAGE; You could be next!It doesn't always happen to someone else.And ladies,if alone,carry a pepper spray or alike,and if you should be approached/confronted,shout " FIRE",it is a word that people respond to apparently more so than help.

[Old Daffodil]

I would like to point out that theives are not necessarily always men. Women can also be burglars and have known of someone mistakenly thinking that the women leaving a neighbours house were cleaners. They walked out with stolen goods wrapped in a bedspread and was mistaken for laundry.

[BabaYard]

Where in Ovacik is your place Tony? What is this system you have employed that prevented entry?

We had an attempted break-in last August, and since then we have had window locks, external PIR lights and an alarm fitted.

Interestingly, I read on Fethiye Times today that there is a new visitor complaint hotline.

http://www.fethiyetimes.org.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1965&Itemid=169

This is for tourists and ex-pats. In addition to the phone number, there is also an email address. Maybe we should all start actively complaining about crime rate, and how this appears to be growing year on year. It's clear from reading this forum and others, that Calis, Uzumlu and Ovacik have a big problem with burglaries.

[jo b]

Our villa is on same site as Babayards and we have had two attempted breakins this year...they made a right mess of the door but luckily didn't get in. Mind you there isn't really anything in there anyway..

As said before we have been told that they are after cash and anything they can sell on easily cameras etc

Whilst we out in turkey last month our neighbours rentees (four young women) left the outside lights on all day and night just seemed to advertising the fact they were there!

[Stressed Eric]

2 female friends stopping in our ground floor apartment in Ovacik disturbed a breakin attempt at 5 o'clock this morning. Luckily we have fitted extra locks and they couldn't get in, but it obviously frightened our friends. Our maintenance guy contacted the jandarma, but because they didn't actually get into the property they weren't really interested.

[sue mac]

Are these attempted (and sometimes unfortunately successful) break ins happening on complexes or on private villas/apartments? Would be interesting to know, as many of the complexes supposedly have security???

[milliemars]

Sue Villa at Last was done a couple of weeks ago,they were broken into while they were asleep again only small stuff and money taken.They got through the basement window.

[ovaciksarah]

Believe it or not, friends of mine had an attempted burglary, and when confronted, found they were English, and they ran

[BabaYard]

There are 13 private villa's on our site, and before Hanel disappeared, we did have night security. Unfortunately, none of the maintenance companies want to hire Security personnel, and of course, some owners (including myself) have chosen different maintenance companies to provide pool and garden works, so continuity becomes a problem. As owners, all we can do is implement as many security measures as possible, but I believe the authorities need to do far more.

Just take a look at the top threads on CBF (which we all know is by far the most viewed / popular forum in S/W turkey) Attempted Abductions, Flashers and Break-in's seem to be at the top of most of the main forum and resort area forums. If you were a potential visitor to the Mugla region, would you bother having read these... I doubt it - what a shame [!]

[davidzz]

quote:Just take a look at the top threads on CBF (which we all know is by far the most viewed / popular forum in S/W turkey) Attempted Abductions, Flashers and Break-in's seem to be at the top of most of the main forum and resort area forums. If you were a potential visitor to the Mugla region, would you bother having read these... I doubt it - what a shame

Yhis is not a true reflection of the area and why people should or should not visit. The reason it is high on topic is because people get more passionate talking about negative issues than positive issues. Someone tells you they did not get attacked, broken in to, stitched up etc no one is too bothered, as soon as you mention that they have, everyone has a comment. Bad news travels quicker than good news.

I suppose with regards break-ins dont be complacent, take commonsense precautions but don't let it stop you enjoying your life.