Got Problem With Thief. Need Advice

[maidu]

recurrent thefts from my house. House is big, many windows and doors. I live alone, no dogs.

Would like to get fingerprints taken. Can anyone reading this know how to do it, and willing to assist me on this?

Have had this problem twice before in 15 years here in C.Rai. Each time, thief was caught and went to jail. Different thief each time.

I've been to police on earlier times, but they're more hassle than help. There's always a bunch of onlookiers, whenever a claim is filed, and a bunch come to the crime site, and it probably whets the appetites of some of them or their hangers-on. Not surprisingly, cops never do anything worthwhile in that regard.

could put bars on all windows and heavier duty locks everywhere. Probably will, but it's like building a fortress. Not what I envisioned, when moving to Thailand.

Am going to town now to buy a security camera array (I resisted doing that prior).

[skybluestu]

And if you get the fingerprints done you'll do what? If you take them to the BIB then they wouldn't accept them and would want to do it themselves which you don't want!

[dingdang]

you can make them visible, depending on the ground, with powder or fine milled charcoal...

put it on a paper and blow it against the side... it will stick on the fat...

not sure, if there is a way to get them down onto something portable, but maybe it can help to figure out how they enter...?

[transam]

And if you get the fingerprints done you'll do what? If you take them to the BIB then they wouldn't accept them and would want to do it themselves which you don't want!

Think your right.

Camera idea is good IF you put signs in Thai script around the property.

Think most of us have grills to deter lowlife and mainly cos there is no ''real'' police in an emergency.

[raro]

you can make them visible, depending on the ground, with powder or fine milled charcoal...

put it on a paper and blow it against the side... it will stick on the fat...

not sure, if there is a way to get them down onto something portable, but maybe it can help to figure out how they enter...?

Use clear Scotch tape and stick the prints on a piece of paper.

Still, I'd prefer the forensic department to do that, it is probably more difficult than it seems.

A camera system combined with a burglar alarm is probably the best passive defense against burglars, just make sure that all systems work on backup batteries and transmit via gprs data to a server on the internet in real time. Otherwise your evidence is gone when the thieves pack up your recording device...

Sent from my Nexus S using Thaivisa Connect App

[phl]

you can even get an alarm system that will sms or call your phone if something moves on the house or window or door open.

I would get a pitbull or 2 is even better

this way not only your house is safe but also have companions

In my experience, Thai's are really scared of pitbulls. One time my neighbor called fire brigade because she assumed my house was on fire(which was not)

Cut the story short, when i arrived, i found 15 or so cops standing outside along with fireman and everyone else, an no one dared to enter the house.

I do have 3 dogs, one is a scary looking pitbull.

Even though i was there, police was still to enter and asked me to lock the dogs away before they would enter.

Mind you thats 15 men, with guns and yet still scared. Imagine how the thief will feel

[maidu]

thanks for the responses. I'll see about implementing some of them.

[Garry]

Put out a reward for help. Hint to the police that the reward will be for anyone finding the bad guy and your belongings..

Sent from my iPhone 3 using ThaiVisa app

[cooked]

I hope that you are experienced with dogs, pitbulls can be quite a handful if not handled right.

[phl]

I hope that you are experienced with dogs, pitbulls can be quite a handful if not handled right.

who are you addressing?

If Op, one does not have to much experience just common sense and time to give for a dog. Not to mention there are hundreds of websites and books to read and learn.

Pitbulls are the most beautiful and loving dogs, it is when they end up in the wrong hands the problems occur.

They are very protective of the family and the house.

If loved and and cared for, they really do make an amazing companion, my girl(pitbull) is just the sweetest dog you ever come across and would never hurt anyone unless they had ill intention

But Op does not need to get pitbulls, any dog, even Chihuahua will protect its own house.

PS. Chihuahua, The origin of this breed is to keep in the bag to protect from pick pockets

[cooked]

I hope that you are experienced with dogs, pitbulls can be quite a handful if not handled right.

who are you addressing?

If Op, one does not have to much experience just common sense and time to give for a dog. Not to mention there are hundreds of websites and books to read and learn.

Pitbulls are the most beautiful and loving dogs, it is when they end up in the wrong hands the problems occur.

They are very protective of the family and the house.

If loved and and cared for, they really do make an amazing companion, my girl(pitbull) is just the sweetest dog you ever come across and would never hurt anyone unless they had ill intention

But Op does not need to get pitbulls, any dog, even Chihuahua will protect its own house.

PS. Chihuahua, The origin of this breed is to keep in the bag to protect from pick pockets

Strangely enough, I was addressing the last person that mentioned pit bulls in a post, and the remark by Maidu that he will 'see about implementing some of them'.

I love pit bulls, I just wanted to say that you can't just buy a puppy or two and think that the problem is solved. Some people just don't know how to raise and look after dogs, they also may not realise that they will be taking on another family member for the next 12 - 20 years.

I don't think learning it off the internet is the way to go either if you never had dogs before.

[wileycoyote]

Really ,I would consider having a dog.

Great companionship,great way of meeting other people

Even small dogs can have a loud bark to frighten off strangers

[phl]

I hope that you are experienced with dogs, pitbulls can be quite a handful if not handled right.

who are you addressing?

If Op, one does not have to much experience just common sense and time to give for a dog. Not to mention there are hundreds of websites and books to read and learn.

Pitbulls are the most beautiful and loving dogs, it is when they end up in the wrong hands the problems occur.

They are very protective of the family and the house.

If loved and and cared for, they really do make an amazing companion, my girl(pitbull) is just the sweetest dog you ever come across and would never hurt anyone unless they had ill intention

But Op does not need to get pitbulls, any dog, even Chihuahua will protect its own house.

PS. Chihuahua, The origin of this breed is to keep in the bag to protect from pick pockets

Strangely enough, I was addressing the last person that mentioned pit bulls in a post, and the remark by Maidu that he will 'see about implementing some of them'.

I love pit bulls, I just wanted to say that you can't just buy a puppy or two and think that the problem is solved. Some people just don't know how to raise and look after dogs, they also may not realise that they will be taking on another family member for the next 12 - 20 years.

I don't think learning it off the internet is the way to go either if you never had dogs before.

Thats true, but everyone had to start somewhere and internet and books is a very good start. I know when i got my first dog, i had no idea about dogs, but learned pretty fast.

You are 300% right though, getting a dog is a long term commitment and does require time and lots of sacrifices, but the rewards are also huge in my opinion.

Ii been in THailand for little while now and after 6-7 years of not having a dog, i could not help myself and took some strays off the street. Its very hard to have a dog but just as hard not to have one after you always had one(if you know what i mean)

I also found having a dog in Thailand, really does help to stay sane and away from drinking on lonely nights.

Back to OP

Being a dog owner and dog lover i am a strong believer that dog is best security you can get, however it is not for everyone, but should you chose to get one, it is rewarding on more than one level

[phl]

Really ,I would consider having a dog.

Great companionship,great way of meeting other people

Even small dogs can have a loud bark to frighten off strangers

Forget the barks, they also bite, and their little teeth hurt like hell. You may not get ripped into pieces like when bitten by a pitbull, but you sure will feel the pain for a few days if not weeks

I know in my family of 3, the smallest one is the one who bites and guards the house, while the pitbull only looks scary, but is too lazy to get off the sofa to go see who is outside

[villagefarang]

I saw this topic as having potential for stirring an interesting debate over the broader question of security. After all it is something we all must consider on some level. Still people often prefer to bicker over the minutia and ignore the broader questions.

Like the OP, I refuse to live behind high walls or to be encaged in iron, peering out from behind prison bars. Some choose the fortress approach while others go for barking dogs. Determined thieves can often find a way around security precautions and are not squeamish about killing dogs with tainted meat.

I suppose one could go for a purpose built secure room in the house where valuables could be kept but I don’t believe any method is foolproof. I tend to think good relations with your neighbors and not leaving the house unattended for any length of time is another way to go.

[phl]

I saw this topic as having potential for stirring an interesting debate over the broader question of security. After all it is something we all must consider on some level. Still people often prefer to bicker over the minutia and ignore the broader questions.

Like the OP, I refuse to live behind high walls or to be encaged in iron, peering out from behind prison bars. Some choose the fortress approach while others go for barking dogs. Determined thieves can often find a way around security precautions and are not squeamish about killing dogs with tainted meat.

I suppose one could go for a purpose built secure room in the house where valuables could be kept but I don’t believe any method is foolproof. I tend to think good relations with your neighbors and not leaving the house unattended for any length of time is another way to go.

Yes to all and NO to all

My neighbors love me, but not because of me, but because of the dogs who raise hell when a stranger enters the village.

Of course thieves can find a way into anything, however the harder it becomes the less attractive the target is.

Do keep in mind, those breaking into houses are not exactly pro's but rather desperate drug addicts.

I have a corner house, with glass windows all around, i have a fence which can be easily jumped. I installed barb wire all around the top of the fence making it hard to jump over to get in and even harder to get out with things.

I also leave all doors and windows open, so dogs can roam where ever they feel like.

As i said in my first post, 15 armed policeman, along with fireman and everyone else, did not dare to enter my house out of fear.

One does not have to iron himself in, just need to make it appear to be as painful as possible and not only to get in, but also to get out

[goodvoicetech]

Good dogs are the best!

[phl]

Good dogs are the best!

Bad dogs are even better, they even keep you(owner) out

Edited July 7, 2012 by phl

[maidu]

Have a Thai woman friend who offered to bring over her police friends. At first I said 'no thanks' but after having a couple more break-ins within the following week, I said ok, hoping to get some fingerprints dusted.

First three plainclothes guys showed up with the woman and her daughter (as translator). Then two uniformed cops showed up a half hour later. All was good, lots of talking, but no one was testing for prints. The uniformed cops showed me two photos: One was of five mid-teen boys he said they'd just caught, and did I know them (I vaguely did, but couldn't be sure). The cops asked if I had dollars stolen (I didn't, only baht), and showed me the 2nd photo which had piles of dollars the kids had stolen. They asked to see some dollars (which I showed them) in order to ascertain what they looked like up close.

I made a list of things which were missing, so if they found any of them elsewhere, that could be indicative of a theft. They left, taking some personal plastic things (defunct credit cards, etc) which might yield a print or two.

Am not sure whether I'll get a dog. I like dogs. Have had 'em prior. Just don't want to get entangled with being a dog owner - or any other pets.

Spoke with a farang friend who lived on an island in the Caribbean for 15 years. He said the 1st 10 years were great. The final 5 years were 'hell' because of repeated rip-offs of his house there. He said it was druggies. I can relate to his travails.

[evadgib]

Ameteur recovery of fingerprints is time consuming & less likely to net results than a few clips of HD CCTV.

[EvilDrSomkid]

We have 3 dogs, one of which is a Rottweiler bitch. Very cuddly, but the locals are wary of her.

Seems to work.

edit: Sorry to hear about the break ins. The Cops are useless. You should get bars on the inside of your ground floor windows at least. Get decorative ones, to offset the prison effect.

Edited July 8, 2012 by EvilDrSomkid

[Derifo]

recurrent thefts from my house. House is big, many windows and doors. I live alone, no dogs.

I just moved into a condo from the house I was living in because of the above incident. I don't really like living in a condo, but I feel safer here.

[tracker1]

Go to the police sataion and ask for the Investigator and request him to collect some evidence if he cant he should forward the paperwork to the forensic department for fingerprinting. This come from a good source my lady Lte Col

[phl]

We have 3 dogs, one of which is a Rottweiler bitch. Very cuddly, but the locals are wary of her.

Seems to work.

edit: Sorry to hear about the break ins. The Cops are useless. You should get bars on the inside of your ground floor windows at least. Get decorative ones, to offset the prison effect.

I am thinking of importing a boerboel, but afraid all the locals will move out

[KRS1]

Even though i was there, police was still to enter and asked me to lock the dogs away before they would enter.

Mind you thats 15 men, with guns and yet still scared. Imagine how the thief will feel

A thief can kill it, cops with witnesses cant.

[phl]

Even though i was there, police was still to enter and asked me to lock the dogs away before they would enter.

Mind you thats 15 men, with guns and yet still scared. Imagine how the thief will feel

A thief can kill it, cops with witnesses cant.

Thief is not breaking into bank vault with millions of $$$, its a petty thief who is looking for a quick and easy buck

Strangers never poison your dog its the neighbors who do

[maidu]

Update from OP:

cops rounded up 5 mid-teen boys, aged 13 to 16. The day the kids and their parents were at the station, I couldn't be contacted (to confront them) as I didn't have my phone with me.

I showed up the following day, when the suspects had gone home. Spoke with some plainclothes cops upstairs. They showed me some items (recovered from the boys' hide-away on a hill) which I had listed earlier as being stolen, so it was 100% sure it was them. I looked at their mug shots.

Because of their youth, they were just strongly reprimanded.

As for the money which was stolen, I got 11% of it back. Cops claimed it was all they found, though I can't be sure, because there was a 3 hour discussion about the money (to be given to me) between the cops and the two women friends of mine who were there also. All in all, I congratulated the cops on doing a good job, and left. Have added security measures to my house, but it's still not a locked-down fortress.

[villagefarang]

So it appears the cops are not as useless as we are sometimes led to believe. Glad you got some of your stuff back.

[chang35baht]

"[As for the money which was stolen, I got 11% of it back. Cops claimed it was all they found, though I can't be sure, because there was a 3 hour discussion about the money (to be given to me) between the cops and the two women friends of mine who were there also.]"

Can you elaborate on this? Are you suspicious of the cops or your two women friends?

[Garry]

Update from OP:

cops rounded up 5 mid-teen boys, aged 13 to 16. The day the kids and their parents were at the station, I couldn't be contacted (to confront them) as I didn't have my phone with me.

I showed up the following day, when the suspects had gone home. Spoke with some plainclothes cops upstairs. They showed me some items (recovered from the boys' hide-away on a hill) which I had listed earlier as being stolen, so it was 100% sure it was them. I looked at their mug shots.

Because of their youth, they were just strongly reprimanded.

As for the money which was stolen, I got 11% of it back. Cops claimed it was all they found, though I can't be sure, because there was a 3 hour discussion about the money (to be given to me) between the cops and the two women friends of mine who were there also. All in all, I congratulated the cops on doing a good job, and left. Have added security measures to my house, but it's still not a locked-down fortress.

Need any work done around (not in) the house? Little bit of community service from the little monsters