A friend in the Progreso area, who wishes to remain anonymous, gave us an important reminder this morning about maintaining safety and security while in Yucatan. In the middle of the night, at approximately 2AM, he was awoken by the sound of shuffling feet in his downstairs kitchen. A burglar had crept in through an unlocked second-story sliding glass door, and loaded a bag full of electronics, including two laptops (one of which had been physically locked with a cable), cash, and personal items. The scariest thing, to me, is that the burglar thought he had enough time and was casual enough to sample some snacks in the kitchen, before finally adding a 500g block of Edam cheese to his bag of stolen goods.
Our friend, being the brave soul that he is, caught the burglar in the act, startled him, causing him to drop the bike and bag of stolen items.
He then chased the burglar down, pinned him to the ground, and hit him repeatedly, until the burglar wrested out of his grasp, and ran off, dropping the bag of stolen items on his way. The police have been contacted, though the thief remains at large.
The lesson here to all of our readers is simple: Though we live in one of the safest areas in Mexico, break-ins and home invasions like the one our friend experienced last night can and do happen. It's very easy to get lulled by the warm weather and ocean breezes into a sense of security, but a lapse in basic security precautions can be disastrous. Please, always remember to:
- When leaving for the day or going to sleep at night, make sure all doors and windows are locked. An unlocked door or window is too great an invitation, even if it seems like a lot of trouble to get to (like on a second story). Thieves in the area typically do not break windows or doors. Consider putting iron protectores on ground floor windows for added security; they can be lovely decorative accents to your home
- Consider putting an audible alarm, motion detecting lights, or security cameras on street or beach facing windows. If you have a car with an alarm, keep the panic button next to your bed. Hitting your car alarm and flooding the house with light is enough to send most would-be thieves scurrying.
- Keep keys and important items away from windows. I have another friend who awoke early in the morning to find a long pole extending through their window, fishing for keys that had been left on a countertop.
- If an incident DOES occur, notify police. Even if the crook manages to make an escape, always notify local police. They will want to know, and will give your area a few extra patrols for the next several days. We have heard many stories from people who had thieves get away, only to be caught a few nights later in another house.
It's common sense stuff, but as our friend in Progreso is sure to tell you after his adventure last night, it can be easy to forget...or in his case, relax precautions in the name of catching the cooling ocean breeze. Let's all watch out for each other, and keep our homes and our beaches safe!
