A woman whose new home was targeted by burglars sent a powerful message to those responsible on the anniversary of the break-in.
ECHO life writer Jess Flaherty had recently moved in to the property in Liverpool with her boyfriend when thieves struck, in an experience shared by thousands of people each year. While Merseyside has lower burglary rates than many areas and has seen year on year falls, there were still 14 burglaries per day reported in our police force area in the year ending March 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Each of those incidents leaves a lasting impact which can go far beyond the material possessions lost or damaged - as Jess explains in her letter to those responsible.
Dear thieves,
You probably don't remember what you were doing on November 2 last year, but I do. You were smashing through the bottom half of my kitchen door in order to break into my house and steal mine and my boyfriend's things.
We'd only been living in the house for six weeks. There were still some boxes unpacked, and we'd not decorated or fully made the space our own and yet, in less than two hours time, you broke in and made it yours. You shattered the glass pane in the kitchen door, you crawled through, petrifying our dog in the process, and ransacked our private space.
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You took our television, our PlayStation 4, our controllers, every game we owned (including the newest version of FIFA, much to my boyfriend's complete dismay). You took each of our wireless headphones, an old iPhone I'd kept purely as extra back up to store sentimental photos and videos, even our alcohol and more.
You went into our bedroom, rummaged through every drawer we have - including my underwear drawer - and you pulled items out with wild and frantic abandon. You opened shoe boxes and tipped their contents out. You took every piece of jewellery in the trinket dish and jewellery boxes on my bedside table and chest of drawers.
Bracelets my friends had bought me for birthdays gone by; the Pandora bracelet I got for my 21st many years ago; earrings and necklaces I'd been gifted by family. You took things I forgot I owned, the trauma of the experience clouding my memories and meaning many things went unclaimed for when dealing with our insurance company. Facebook memories still pop up and remind me of beautiful items I completely forgot to claim for.
It was a Tuesday night, between 6.30pm and 8.30pm. I'd worked from home that day before heading to Bold Street to meet a friend for pizza before venturing to the Empire Theatre to review a show. My boyfriend had gone to football. He got home first, having to deal with the immediate aftermath of your crime.
I left the theatre at around 10.30pm and headed towards the bus stop. My phone rang and, seeing my boyfriend's name, I rolled my eyes thinking he was calling to ask me to pick something up from Tesco. I remember thinking I'd have to get a later bus and feeling mildly annoyed.
When he told me we'd been robbed, it took a few seconds for me to register what he'd said. It was like one of those scenes in a film - something I'd always thought to be cliched or contrived, or both - but he needed to repeat it a second time for me to accept what he was saying as the truth. A friend came to pick me up, while I cried in the middle of the busy street outside the theatre.
When I got home, my new home didn't feel like mine anymore. Our dog, regularly referred to as the happiest dog in the world, was meek and mild, on edge at the slightest noise. Because you'd already left the house, it took hours for the police to come as we weren't classed as being in immediate danger. We weren't allowed to touch anything, but we called to ask if our friend's very lovely and efficient dad could board up the bottom of our kitchen door to try and help us feel a little safer. You took our spare back door key, so he replaced the lock for us, too. We still put an assembly course of objects in front of the door that night out of fear of you trying to return. We had other friends and family calling and offering to let us stay at theirs.
I felt numb. Trampled shards of glass littered the entire ground floor - something we'd find for months after, no matter how many times we swept up or vacuumed - plant pots were overturned, drawers were open, there was debris everywhere. It was a mess - a mess we'd have to clean up.
When the police arrived to take our statements, it felt surreal, like it was happening to other people entirely. Crime Scene Investigators (CSI) visited us the next morning to dust for prints which, had we not been so completely devastated and traumatised, might have felt kind of cool.
The substance they use to dust for prints on furniture is a complete nightmare to clean and when I was repeatedly wiping down furniture after CSI had left, I became angry and upset all over again that not only had you broken into my home and stolen from me, but now you were stealing my time.
That's another thing nobody really talks about after a robbery. Aside from the trauma and the unrelenting anxiety, there's the monotony of cleaning up some utter scumbags' mess and then having to deal with the insurance company for weeks on end. Having to trawl through old photos trying to find evidence of the items you no longer own and want to claim for. Having to then chase up those claims and answer phone call after phone call, reliving the entire ordeal for weeks and weeks on end.
The money we'd saved for decorating and other bits and bobs in our new home went on added security measures. We needed a new back gate because you smashed one of the wooden panels in ours in order to open it and waltz out with our belongings, the cavalier damage you inflicted irreparable. We needed cameras, wall spikes, a motion sensor light installing in the back yard, anti vandal paint and more.
We didn't feel safe with the back door and the proposed repair job would've meant the same thing could have happened again in the future. I couldn't cope with the idea of a glass pane large enough for a thief to smash and crawl through. I'd held it together for weeks but I broke down and sobbed in my bathroom while looking at the price of composite doors, which were extremely out of our budget.
My auntie very kindly lent us the money to replace our back door, and a few months later when the anxiety and stress was still quite prolific, she lent us the money to replace our front door, too. We're still paying her back month by month.
If I hear a noise when home alone, even now, my immediate thought is someone is trying to break into the house. Sometimes, we'll be walking our dog and irrational panic about the house having been empty sets in and we'll race home. My insomnia kicked up several notches. My boyfriend didn't go to football for months, too afraid to leave the house or be spotted going somewhere on a set day at a set time. Our dog would bark at men in dark hats and dark clothing for months when previously, he greeted every single person he encountered as though they were a new best friend.
To this day, we won't stick to a routine, as we're too frightened about being trackable. Slowly but surely, we're in a better place mentally. We're not entirely confident the lingering fear and anxiety will ever completely go away, but it's lessened.
It took us seven years to scrimp and save a deposit to buy our little terraced house, and in just a matter of hours, you completely destroyed the excitement and pride we'd felt at finally having our feet on the bottom rung of the property ladder.
People talk about forgiveness as though it's something victims need in order to move on. I disagree. I have moved on, but I don't forgive you.
Merseyside Police's dedicated burglary team, Operation Castle, has helped reduce reported burglaries year on year to 55% below where they were when the team was launched. Crime reporter Jonathan Humphries spoke to its head, Detective Inspector Tony O'Brien, about the team - and what people should do if they were targeted.
Anyone with any CCTV or doorbell footage showing a suspected burglar can upload it for the attention of the Operation Castle team here. You can share any other information you think is useful via the police social media desk on Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also pass information via Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form.
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