johnny five

A close friends "C" forms were taken to the new Police Station in Anjuna by a local in the last few days. They were refused because........

IT IS NOW A REQUIREMENT THAT A FULL LIST OF YOUR VALUABLES IS WRITTEN ON THE BACK, AND SIGNED!

You what?

Give a full list of your valuables to one of the most dishonest and underpaid police forces in the world (proved time and time again) and the only remaining question is whether they will nick your stuff or sell lists to other criminals.

My friend had the good sense to just put a few basic items, not the contents of the house.

The inference given was no list and the "C" form would not be accepted, I also got the feeling that if items were not on the list, should you be robbed, they would not be entered on the Police report of the crime. For long-stay\expats this is less relevant as we have inadequate insurance cover, most of us, but for holiday-makers it is more of an issue.

I really cannot believe how this place continues to plumb new depths of corruption and depravity..........

ps
At present this is a new thing, and may be limited to the notorious Anjuna Police Station, any feed-back if it starts at the Calangute branch would be appreciated.

dreadsoc

J5
This is a scary development, very irregular, and highly dubious.
I cannot see UK tour operators/travel agents finding this practice acceptable,
so this should be reported to ABTA before tourists booking into hotels are made to list their valuables, followed by 'mysterious disappearances' of said valuables.

Whatever next?!!!

Dread - the outraged !
x

Dread -

johnny five

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

Whats almost scarier is that I found it necessary to edit the post twice to avoid my friend being identified as he avoids the Goan police at all costs......

He did ask me to put it on here though.

dreadsoc

Also worth you putting it on to the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide websites for Goa. The more people warned of this scam the better.
For those privately renting, this would entail giving information on their valuables to the 'landlords' as well, because they are the ones who submit the C forms. This would be another unwise move for people to do, and is a practice which could turn Goa into a burglars paradise within a very short space of time !

Dread - go..an' spread the warning J5 !
x

wheatsheaf

Im going put down the 'family jewels' and hope they dont mysteriously disappear! Wonder what the konkani phrase is for 'family jewels'?

hemingway

Same as the one for Meat & two veg perhaps. . . . . . .

Seriously though, if you comply with this laughable request/instruction, you might as well start the list with "Dear Mr Burglar" or "Dear Mr Corrupt Police Officer" - then follow it up with specific makes & model numbers of your gadgets, so that if they don't have the presence of mind to steal the chargers/remotes for your electrical items, at least they can enquire at a local electrical retailer to make sure the chargers/remotes are available as a spare part to make the stolen goods more saleable.

If you could also leave all authenticity certificates for jewellery with the 'sparklies' themselves, that would make the future sale of stolen goods process easier too.

Not forgetting to leave your motorcycle keys somewhere obvious as they may need a get away vehicle to ride to the nearest cash machine on, where they can use the credit & debit cards that you've left out for your unwelcome visitors - Oh & forget all the pin security nonsense, be helpful, scratch the pin numbers into the cards somewhere obvious using a compass point to make them easier to read!

As you've probably read on other threads, replacement passports are a 'walk in the park to obtain' - so just leave them lying around too & don't bother to keep copies.

Mobile phones, make sure you leave plenty credit on your Indian mobile, then the thief doesn't need to use any of your money (see below) to top it up. As for your UK mobile, whatever you do, don't record the IMEI number off the back of the phone - that way you won't be able to get the phone blocked, making it both useable & saleable.

Have an eclectic mix of music on your ipod - songs everyone would like!

Leave plenty cold beers in your fridge - theft & burglary are warm work.

Finally cash, take more Sterling than you need & leave it lying around or to save any thief the bother, change it all into Rupees & leave that in an obvious place instead.

Apologies for what may seem like a flippant post - but they are points to think about when bearing in mind the information that people are now being asked to provide on 'C' forms.

H.

johnny five

Rock on Hemmy!

wheatsheaf

so far have had four hundred pounds pick pocketed at Mumbai airport 2007. Shoes stolen at Baga beach when I turned my back on them for under a minute. Camera missing from taxi..gone for good...Old Goa.My 20 year old genuine (!) Vespa scooter driven off from my property whilst I was in England. Last month, the front door of my place was smashed in. A trustworthy friend came by, and asked less than trustworthy neighbour what had happened, and was met with blank stares over a double gate which was previously IN my property having installed it 20 years ago myself!!! All outdoor brass taps, brass door fittings, iron fittings are gone for good too!!!! AM beginning to feel that I am working to feed a village full of thieves and ingrates.

excelsior

I visited Gokarna a year back and there was a check point manned by police with a booth. They were systematicaly stopping everybody. The only way of avoiding this procedure would have been to enter the zone by foot through forest. To my surprise I was issued a detailed registration form to submit with already printed out questions such as cash, jewelry etc... how much time I intended to stay. I had one lac on me and a camera, and usual stuff, I included the items. I was checked and searched, Iisted the digital camera in the form but it wasn't satisfactory to them and demanded me to put the exact model name with its serial number, I was also requested to show my cash that I had indeed one lac on me.

Dellon

Best reply, I have read for a good while!
Worthy of the pages in both Navhind Times and O'Herald!

dreadsoc

Hi Wheatsheaf

You are the fifth Brit I have heard of this year who has had a burglary to their property in Goa. One person I know was broken into in Candolim on the afternoon they arrived at their flat, went out to buy the essentials, gone less than an hour and returned to find suitcases rifled, and over £3k cash stolen. Another person I know in Arpora had a break in to their flat, but nothing was stolen thankfully, however there was still costly damage. Another person had someone break into their place near Arpora and it appears the intruders were sleeping in there and left the place in a filthy state from their 'spitting' habits. Another had a so called 'friend' who entered their place at Baga whilst they were at the beach, cash stolen and an engagement ring.
People BEWARE - burglaries are happening!

They will happen even more if people comply with listing their valuables for police and hotel managers/landlords etc.

The only thing Ill be listing as my valuables is my electric toothbrush!!

Beginning to wonder if Goa has a 'think tank' to identify new ways to extract from the innocent traveller !!

Dread - locked (my valuables away) !
x

poppetjay

We always said this sort of thing woud start happening, lets face it the whole of Goa is in a state and people (especially outsiders) are getting desperate for cash and things will only get worse, dont leave anything unlocked or unattended on the beach or anywhere as they will chance there luck and we will be the losers.
If you remember last year they came through my window and nicked my mobile before the dog woke me up and my OH was in another bedroom playing the PC even then they were taking chances.

oktata

we will be taking possession of our new flat in benaulim early in the new year and are planning on having grills fitted - how effective would this be as a deterrent to theft and vandalism. if we are unable to find a tenant / property management company during our short stay we will just have to lock up the place and hope no one breaks in !

dreadsoc

Oktata

If you have grills fitted, they are good, especially for windows, but I would advise that you cover the rivets and fill in the edge gaps with white cement - much more difficult to get them off then - as it would need a fair amount of chiselling.
You can buy the white cement in any hardware place in Goa and it costs about 25 - 50 rupees, then you just mix with water. Even I found it easy !

Another piece of advice - take some 5 lever mortice (chubb type) locks with you (from home - most Indian ones are made from rubbish metal and keys break off in them). Have them fitted to all your exterior doors. Most builders only put Yale type locks on doors, which will give in to one sharp kick to the door. Also door grills are locked using a padlock which can be cut off easily enough. With mortice locks it either needs something to jemmy it with or repeated batterings. Both make noise which may bring attention from neighbours, and are harder work so the average thieving git is likely to go for an easier property to enter rather than yours.

If you have French doors, take with you some of the little shoot type bolts which are inserted into the bottom and top of each door (inside the door panel itself) and shoot a cylindrical length of metal into the floor. These are quite hard to force.

Also please note that a lot of the builders keep keys for the property without telling you, and some are left where others can get access to them. Taking your own locks will prevent anyone else getting access other than who you choose. Some less scrupulous builders have also been known to rent out these properties when you are not there, so you can ensure they can't do this!

There is no way anyone can make a place absolutely burglary proof, but at least you can make the thieving rats work harder to steal your stuff !

I did all the above on my flat. The lock fitters I had were excellent so if anyone wants their details please pm me.

Hope this is helpful

Dread - locked !

oktata

Dread - thanks for the tips ! i will look for the 5 lever mortice locks you suggested - im sure home depot keeps these. shall pm you re lock fitters - cheers