1. Safety and prevention advice
  2. How to avoid theft and robberies

How to avoid theft and robberies

What to do if you have been robbed?

  • Inform the police immediately (112) and request medical assistance where necessary.
  • Do not let anyone enter the place where the robbery has occurred (dwelling, shop). Do not touch anything that may be used for taking finger prints and other evidence of the persons responsible for the crime.
  • Keep your telephone line free until the police arrive.

Robatoris 2

Robatoris

Outside

Personal items

  • Don't carry all your money, keys and personal documents together in one place; keep them in several places (pockets, bag or backpack, wallet, etc.)
  • Keep your eye on your personal items (bag, wallet, mobile phone, jacket etc.,) and don’t get separated from them.
  • Carry only the money and items you need.
  • If you are carrying an open bag or basket, don’t leave your purse inside it.
  • If you are carrying a closed bag or wallet held on a cross-body strap, make sure it is visible and in front of your body.
  • Make sure you keep your wallet, purse, mobile phone, etc., in your inside pockets, and take care when you are pushed or people approach you in a suspicious way.

Cash points

  • Try to use cash points during office hours.
  • If you need to use a cash point outside office hours, choose one that is indoors and don’t forget to lock the door while you are inside.
  • Protect yourself from being watched by strangers while you operate the cash point or handle your money, and do not accept any help you may be offered.
  • Use the cash point's assistance systems (intercom or internal telephones) to ask for help if you are suspicious of someone outside.

Different offers

  • Stay clear of unauthorised street hawking; it's illegal and the products on offer are of dubious origins and quality. What is more, buyers may be issued fines. Do your shopping in regulated shops.
  • Games of chance (card-sharps), fortune telling (tarot-card reading, palm reading, etc.), begging and other activities that are carried out on streets without permits are often performed for fraudulent purposes and are a swindle. Don’t waste your time on them.
  • Don’t accept any offers of flowers or other items outside shops.

In shops

Security systems

  • Provide all the shop’s access points with secure locking systems, including storage room, galleries, staircases and windows. These systems have to provide for emergency evacuations.
  • Install a visible alarm system from the outside, and connected to a central surveillance office in concert with the police.
  • Ensure the visibility of all the protective elements that the establishment has at its disposal: alarms, safety boxes, extinguishers and hose pipes.
  • Consider strengthening communal spaces (halls, staircases etc.,) or separation elements (doors and partition walls) where the premises are adjacent to other buildings.
  • It is advisable, depending on the type of shop, to install an alarm and monitoring system where the access door opens, whether this is a latch or a remote activation system.
  • It is advisable to install a silent alarm button.
  • Install inter-communication systems (telephones, intercoms, walkie-talkies, etc.) among the establishment's various areas.
  • Consider the convenience of installing systems that enable you to see every part of the establishment (mirrors, cameras etc.,.), given that, besides improving your surveillance, they also act as deterrents.
  • Hang up your emergency plan’s evacuation-route map, as it will make it easier for both the brigade and the police to perform their operations, should it become necessary.

Daily trading

  • Make sure that there is no one left inside your establishment before you close it. Remember to connect your alarm systems.
  • Keep a façade light on during the times your establishment is closed. It will deter anyone from trying to open your locks and shutters.
  • Establish communication codes among the staff, so that, in the event of any kind of incident, you can activate such communication without alarming your customers.
  • Provide any items on display for sale with mechanical or electronic protection systems and keep your most valuable items out of the public's reach.
  • Keep a record of the items that are on display in the shop and which you keep in storage. It will help you with making an inventory of any losses you suffer following a robbery.
  • Do not leave the task of cashing up till the last moment, before you close. It is better to cash up with someone else present and in an area where the public cannot see you.
  • Set a maximum money limit for the cash register and remove anything in excess, during the day, leaving only what you need for returning change to your customers. Depending on the features of your shop, consider the convenience of installing safes with coded and delayed opening in a clearly visible place, showing that the establishment’s staff have no access to it.

In vehicles

In a house garage

  • Make sure no stranger enters with you when you open your garage access door.
  • Wait for the door to close behind you, whenever entering or leaving, before you walk off. You should set your timer to minimum.
  • Remember to lock the residents’ access door when you enter or leave your garage on foot.
  • Take your garage opening card or remote control with you.
  • Avoid leaving packets or items that can be seen inside your vehicle (bags, credit cards, documents, electronic devices etc.)
  • Lock your vehicle and ensure you leave its windows fully closed and the alarm, if it has one, connected.

In public car parks

  • Avoid leaving items or packets that can be seen from outside.
  • Park, if possible, in a place close to the ticket window or which can be clearly seen by surveillance staff or security cameras.
  • Remember to lock your vehicle and ensure its windows are fully closed.
  • Take your key card with you.

Parking on the street

  • Avoid leaving items inside your vehicle that can be seen from outside (clothes, bags, wallets, keys, credit cards, telephones, etc.).
  • Check that the steering wheel is immobilised and the windows are completely shut before you get out of your vehicle.
  • Activate your anti-theft devices installed in your vehicle (alarm, battery cut-off, steering-wheel immobiliser, pedal locks, etc.)

While you drive

  • Make sure the doors are locked and the windows are closed, especially when you stop at traffic lights.
  • Be suspicious of hawkers offering you services or items. Do not under any circumstances open your windows or release your car-door safety locks.

On public transport

  • Always stay alert.
  • Whether you’re on a platform, at a bus stop, or inside a vehicle, keep your eyes on your bags and your bags closed. It's better to keep your money, credit cards and documents in your inside front pockets.
  • Keep your belongings (bags, suitcases etc.,) close to you and never lose sight of them.
  • When there are lots of people around, you’re better of carrying your bags and rucksacks in front rather than behind you.

At home

General advice

  • Try not to accumulate items of value at home. If you have one, make an inventory of the items stating their features, brand, model, and manufacturing serial number. Mark out or engrave your national identity number on your items to help with their identification, should the need arise.
  • Hide any important documents (bank books, cheque books, insurance policies etc.,) especially anything that contains your signature.
  • Be suspicious of "technical services" you haven’t asked for (water, electricity, gas, television etc.) Ask the technician for their corresponding ID and phone the company concerned to confirm the service being offered.

Doors and windows

  • Check that doors and windows are securely locked before you go out, including those that lead to internal communal areas (courtyards, terraces, galleries etc.)
  • Lock the door, even if your are only going out for a short while.
  • You must never under any circumstances leave otes on your door stating that you are not home.
  • Always remember who has a copy of your house keys.
  • Change your door’s lock if you have lost your keys.
  • Strengthen your door with security systems: reinforcement, strengthened clamps and fronts, spyholes, chains, latches, etc.

Long absences

  • Try not to leave any signs of your absence (dry plants, full postbox, closed blinds, etc.) Clothing hanging out to dry, half-lowered shutters and an activated light-switch timer are measures that can be used to make it look like your dwelling is occupied. Ask someone you trust to look after your house while you're away and leave them a telephone contact number.
  • Do not speak in front of strangers mentioning your intention to go away for the weekend or a few days.
  • Remember to check and connect your alarm systems, if you have any, before you go away.
  • Remember to leave your valuable documents and items in a safe place before you go away.