Police ask public to be on guard as Santiago del Teide municipality suffers crimewave

[Janet]

Police are warning residents and visitors in the Santiago del Teide municipality to be on their guard in the face of a crimewave afflicting the area from Puerto Santiago to Los Gigantes, and towns in the hills, as well as Santiago del Teide itself. A stream of robberies have taken place in miradores/lookout points even where people are just feet away from their vehicles while they take in the view, and all sorts of commercial properties have been targeted, from bars to internet shops.

Several residential properties have also been broken into, and the problem has become severe over the past couple of weeks, police say, and have identified eastern Europeans as some of the main culprits - but far from the only ones. Police ask the public to denounce any thefts, bearing in mind the new tourist police in the municipality (see HERE to that story), but they also request cooperation from visitors and especially residents in attempting to prevent crime in the first place by taking extra security.

[Nova]

So is the suggestion that there is more than one gang involved?

[Janet]

no, not really, there's an eastern European gang, it seems, but others are opportunistic ... probably just a few individuals but causing disproportionate chaos.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

I hope we don't get an entry on the joys of living on a complex thread describing burglaries due to somebody letting them into the supposedly secure building!

[Anne 2009]

Keep your eyes peeled @Myrtle Hogan-Lance @Marion @Michael  and a baseball bat behind the door!! Thieving bastards 

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Great idea!  I'll order one from Amazon and have it sent to you @Anne 2009 to bring the next time you come.

[Perikles]

Great idea!  I'll order one from Amazon and have it sent to you @Anne 2009 to bring the next time you come.

But why bother going to the expense of buying a bat when you can make a weapon out of, say, a redundant barbecue fork?

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

But why bother going to the expense of buying a bat when you can make a weapon out of, say, a redundant barbecue fork?

Because my barbecue fork now belongs to some people in Vera de Erques.  Remind me to show you how the storage pouch unfolds into an apron.  Not that you need one as I understand somebody handcrafted you one for your birthday a few years back.