Lock up your home to avoid holiday blues

Dubai: Police have renewed the call for holidaymakers to register their houses in the Home Security Programme before leaving the country, which ensures the safety of their residences while they are away.

Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department, also urged all residents to use alarm systems and not keep valuables in their unattended homes.

"The Home Security Programme by Dubai Police provides round-the-clock protection for houses while residents are away and is available free of charge for all Dubai residents," he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Al Merri, Director of the Investigation Section, said a house thief who committed around 70 house robberies in Ras Al Khaimah in one year was caught in September after robbing a registered house in Dubai and has recently been referred to Ras Al Khaimah prosecution after serving his term in Dubai.

A police patrol monitoring registered houses noticed that the house's lighting was on and called the owner, who told a relative to check.

The house was broken into and robbed less than 12 hours before the robbery was discovered, which is crucial in finding the criminal and retrieving the stolen items, Lt Col Al Merri said.

An Asian man, identified as N.H.R, was caught while trying to sell the stolen items, and police found a pillowcase in the trunk of his car filled with millions of dirhams worth of jewellery that he stole from homes in Ras Al Khaimah.

He also stole Dh400,000 that was left in one of the houses, as well as other amounts of cash and valuable items. "If the house had not been registered in the programme, we would have found out about the robbery only after the owner's return one month later, but we found the thief and retrieved the stolen jewellery thanks to the alertness of the owner," Lt Col Al Merri said.

Information

Visit Dubai Police's website www.dubaipolice.gov.ae or any police station to fill out an application form with information about the house's location, contact details and travel and return times. The house will be monitored by police patrols and the owner will be alerted about any incidents.