Lynn R

Our Spanish neighbours across the street have just denounced the Swedish couple whose house adjoins theirs at the back, because they have contravened the law which says there must be a 2m high wall to stop people being able to overlook their neighbour's premises (although it seems a bit ridiculous as it doesn't apply if there is a street between the houses as I look down from my terrace on to those of at least three neighbours below). There was such a wall there when the Swedish people bought the house, but a few weeks ago they had workmen in to knock part of it down and put balcony railings there instead to open up the view. The Spanish neighbour was highly indignant that when she went out on to her terrace they were sitting at a table up there, waving and smiling at her!

I don't know if they were unaware of the law or just chose to ignore it, but either way they are likely to get a nasty shock. I would have thought anyone should realise that such a wall must be there for a reason, as nobody would freely choose to have one if they could have a panoramic view instead.

amideislas

Around here, almost all of the older buildings have bars in the windows, some up to the higher floors. Our house has many barred windows, too.

I really don't think this is anything new or as a result of some intrinsic "paranoia". But I can believe that 50, maybe 100 years ago, lawlessness likely prevailed, and bars were perhaps the best defence against it.

andyrich666

I was watching Banged Up Abroad the other night, the latest one, will be repeated all week til Sunday, it focuses on a gang who actually used to just break /drill through the exterior walls and ceilings as that was easier than the regular route

Domino

a company I know had a visit from 2 white vans, tied up chains to the "security" bars on the windows, affixed to towbars and pulled them out.
half a million GBP in computers etc loaded in and off.

all captured on cctv, no use however as they used masking tape on their registrations and the guys wore balaclava's

where there is a will there is a way

pete_l

Oh come on. I'm an independent observer who doesn't have a dog in this fight. But even I can see the difference between a state or religion sponsored edifice, designed to awe and show off the wealth of its owner and the dwelling of a serf.

How about comparing like with like: Moorish buildings in Granada with the Cathedrals of England during the same period? (Though that could be tricky as they were mostly destroyed during the reformation)

jackytoo

Yes, EMR's post is pure tosh Granada was a Palace the rest of andalucia lived in poverty, they still did until tourism came along.

andyrich666

CCTV and Alarms prevent, but once its gone its gone, they wont bring it back

Fred James

I'm not sure they necessarily always prevent but they certainly should deter.

andyrich666

Yes I meant that I guess, however it does not get your valuables back, not always anyway

Dick Dasterdly

Not necessarily.
They could be looked upon as encouragement by some burglars that there is more likely to be something worth stealing in such a property, compared to one without such obvious alarm systems.
Obviously there are more effective measures, but I'd prefer to keep them to myself rather than upset the Fluffies.

HBG

I live in a relatively short street populated by ordinary people, mostly Spanish. During a crime wave some fourteen years ago, every single house was broken into, including mine. I was indoors when my burglars struck, they were three exceedingly nasty Algerians.

We all took measures to protect ourselves afterwards and some of us went well over the top. A Spanish guy down the end hasn't just got a gun, he's got an automatic assault rifle. A Scandinavian just along the road has got all sorts of guns, you can buy them legally in Spain in a shop in town.

I'm not too paranoiac, I've only got a base ball bat, a Doberman, and a sword. My wife's a tough lady, she doesn't bother with anything apart from a mace spray.

Word has gotten around, ours is probably the safest street in Spain.

amideislas

I had been led to believe guns were illegal all over the world except for the US?

Beaverstate

Baseball may not have spread around the world, but baseball bats seem to.

JB80

You have been lead down the wrong track on that one.

Guns are legal in most countries however most countries do place much stricter and more common sense laws regarding the ownership of guns than the US does.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/spain.php

Just whether or not people abide by these rules is another question.

Domino

all thieves are hoping for a silent spree, be it in your home, office or warehouse.
the more delays you put in their way the extra microseconds they will hesitate, but at the end of the day if they want in they will get in. The further you are out in the campo the longer it would take for someone to come round to investigate.

I was recently offered (at a very good price) a house not too far from others that had been almost stripped down to the outer walls. anything that was removable or could be ripped from the walls was taken. (I turned it down).

CCTV & Alarms can give an indication of wealth to the canny thief, more especially if there are expensive cars on the drive.
But as Fred says, they will never ever stop the thief.

and if you are really lucky your much cherished goods will be sold for 10% or less of their market value, the money probably blown away in a single night of drug taking.

ISTR reading (here on BE?) about the guy who went away for the weekend or so and came back to find that all the component parts of his solar panel heating and electricity system had been taken along with the standby gennie. would cctv/alarm have covered that €30k investment ??