'Don't open the door to a stranger' - Donegal sergeant appeals to elderly

The crime prevention officer for Donegal has urged people to keep an eye on their elderly neighbours.

A number of older people were targeted in aggravated burglaries in recent times, across the country. 

Sergeant Paul Wallace confirmed burglary figures remain low but did warn that burglaries of this nature can take place.

"What we are saying to older people living alone is don't open the door to a stranger. Keep them out. We have these cards - they are called bogus caller cards, they are available at local stations, you can hand that out through the letterbox," he said. 

The senior garda said the best advice to the elderly is 'not to engage with them at all.'

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Elderly people who have had people that they don't know call to their door are encouraged to call a neighbour or a relative to tell them.

"Again I would be asking neighbours - they play a massive part in any type of crime prevention programme, if you see a car or a van frequenting, up a lane in Donegal, isolated areas ... get into your car and go over and see if they are okay," he said.  

An expert in home security, he said that if you answer the front door ensure the backdoor is locked and vice versa. 

"Once they gain access to your house - you are on a loser, as such, if they have bad deeds on their mind," he said. 

He said door chains will allow you to access the caller however it depends on the quality of the chain. He added that once you open the door it is a 'weakness.'

He urged people to have 24-hour station numbers near their phone so that they can dial them quickly. 

"We are not here to scare people even though the evenings are getting longer and brighter, it doesn't take away that risk so when you see the sporadic attempts Cork, Kerry, Kildare... one of them is one too many , one of them attacks could take a very valued person out of the community. So, what we are saying is use the district model of contacting your guards. Look out for your neighbours, advice them, talk to them, we have lots of leaflets that we can drop into them. We would have a concern around things like that," he said. 

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