Investigations in Burglary Cases

The experienced investigators of Kurtz Detective Agency Erfurt and Thuringia assist you after a burglary to identify the perpetrators and to arrange for the recovery of stolen property. In addition, we are pleased to advise you proactively on how to protect your property from unauthorised access: +49 361 2243 0020.

Rising Case Numbers but Falling Clearance Rates | Increasing Workload for Our Detectives from Erfurt

In 2015, 1,477 cases of residential burglary were reported in Thuringia — 525 more cases than in the previous year, an increase of a hefty 26.4 per cent. For the victims, the clearance rate (CR) of a meagre 25.7 per cent is more than sobering; stolen property often appears to be lost for good. Erfurt performs particularly poorly in terms of residential burglary: it is the only city in the state with three-figure case numbers and an increase of around 50 per cent within one year for this offence type. Our experienced private detectives in Erfurt and Thuringia report on this development from the front line.

Residential burglaries are planned by offenders to a greater or lesser degree; some perpetrators let their imagination run free, as the following case example shows:

Case Example: Cunning Attempted Burglary

The Lauterberg couple planned to take advantage of the first warm spring days and go on an extended bike tour. The bikes, cleaned of winter dust and checked for roadworthiness, stood next to the garage on the couple’s property. While Mrs Lauterberg went back into the house to fetch the picnic basket for the tour, her husband walked around the house to check whether he had locked the garden shed. When both returned to the garage a few minutes later, they discovered the bikes had been stolen.

A police report promised little success, the officer assured them, because the bikes had been left unsecured and visible from the street and nobody had observed anything. Although the bikes had been expensive, they had no distinctive features by which they could be reliably identified. The situation seemed hopeless.

Strange Behaviour by the Thieves Prompts Our Thuringian Detectives into Action

Two days later, on a Monday morning, Mr Lauterberg left the house at around nine to go to work. He was managing director of a company in the mechanical engineering sector and had previously sought the assistance of our experienced corporate investigators from Erfurt regarding the loyalty of a suspicious employee. The entrepreneur was astonished to find the two stolen bikes returned intact in front of the garage; an envelope was taped to one handlebar. Mr Lauterberg took the bikes into the garage and returned to the house with the letter, written in childish handwriting, which he read together with his wife: “Sorry Mamma scolded us! Two tickets so you are not angry!” No signature, nothing else. From the envelope the managing director withdrew two cinema tickets for a screening on the following Saturday evening.

The whole affair struck the Lauterbergs as extremely odd. Although the bikes were not high-end bespoke models, they were also not discount goods; the thieves could have fetched a high three-figure sum on resale. Mr Lauterberg decided to e-mail our detectives in Erfurt and Thuringia (kontakt@kurtz-detektei-erfurt.de) to describe the incident and ask for advice. Our private investigators arranged a meeting with him at his company for the following day.

Better Safe Than Sorry: Surveillance at the Probable Time of the Offence

At the meeting, our detectives suggested that the thieves’ intention might have been to find the Lauterbergs away from home in order to steal valuables and cash. The Erfurt detective team agreed with the client to position four of our experienced investigators in the couple’s house on Saturday afternoon — a few hours before the couple planned to go to the cinema. The relatively large number of personnel was chosen with regard to operative safety. The procedure was discussed once more in detail to avoid unwelcome surprises.

In the early evening, as dusk fell, the couple left the house after visibly switching off all lights, checking every window and locking the front and garage doors. Our Thuringian private detectives then had to exercise patience, as there was still around an hour and a half before the film started.

The Trap Snaps Shut — A Bad Surprise for the Offenders

Apparently the burglars had observed the Lauterbergs leaving, because they did not wait for the cinema screening to begin. About half an hour after the couple’s departure, one of our Erfurt detectives noticed a figure of male build wearing a ski mask approaching the house and attempting to peer through various ground-floor windows. The man vanished but returned a few minutes later with another apparently male accomplice. Both crept around the house, probably to find the easiest point of entry. They eventually chose the patio door. They tried various tools, but the door held firm. One of the two wrapped his jacket around a large hammer and struck the patio-door glass until it shattered.

Our investigators — two stationed on the ground floor, two upstairs — held back and observed the burglars’ actions. After the thieves on the ground floor had taken everything valuable and easy to carry, they went upstairs to search the rooms for further valuables. Our Thuringian detective on the ground floor alerted operations management by SMS, who in turn phoned the police. After about fifteen minutes the burglars returned to the ground floor, followed unnoticed by our second investigator. The two offenders briefly discussed whether to take the flat-screen television or leave it because it would be too conspicuous; they agreed to flee without the TV. Our detectives detained their escape inside the house by effecting a provisional arrest under § 127 StPO, holding the offenders until the police arrived a few minutes later.

Investigations into Various Property Offences

Whether the matter concerns burglary, confidence trickery or other property offences, the experienced and knowledgeable private investigators of our corporate detective service in Erfurt and Thuringia are at your disposal — of course also for personal concerns such as maintenance fraud, adultery, bullying, threats or stalking. For an initial non-binding consultation please use our contact form or describe your case to us by telephone on +49 361 2243 0020.

Note

To preserve discretion and the personal rights of clients and target persons, all names and locations in this case report have been altered beyond recognition.