Police had never seen anything like it. And he [Steven Krueger] lived like a king. Masterminds e58: Mission Impossible Burglar
In the late 1990s Silicon Valley was rocked by a series of extraordinary burglaries: computer dealers were getting hit … At each crime scene investigating officers discovered a hole cut in the roof. In every burglary business owners discovered a fortune in high-end inventory stolen. ibid.
Police bust his airport connection. ibid.
Charlie Seiga needed little encouragement. He began robbing the country houses of north Wales of their antiques. Britain’s Underworld: Liverpool, National Geographic 2010
The wire-taps revealed that several organised crime families in New York were involved in the Bulgari heist. Bringing Down the Mob
The detectives had stumbled onto a notorious band of serial burglars. They were nicknamed the Bypass Gang. ibid.
They were robbing New York blind, and seemed unstoppable. ibid.
Dominick Costa was the best safe-cracker around. ibid.
A high-wire act that cheated death more than once. A man nobody really knew. A performer who didn’t want an audience. A thief who eluded the police for decades. Crime Stories: Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief
Bill Mason estimates he stole about $35,000,000 of jewellery before he got caught. ibid.
Mason used mountain climbing equipment to scale high-rise apartments and hotels. ibid.
Heights didn’t scare me. Bill Mason
It was a bit of a game to me to take them down a peg. I mean, I wasn’t taking their pension fund. Bill Mason
A sophisticated cat burglar now in exclusive neighbourhoods in Dallas. And he always managed to stay one step ahead of the police. Crime Stories: Chasing the Cat
In the early 1990s a rolling burglar was pulling off daring night time robberies in upscale Dallas neighbourhoods. ibid.
Things aren’t right. If a burglar breaks into your home and you shoot him, he can sue you. For what, restraint of trade? Bill Maher
A good politician under democracy is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. H L Mencken
The faults of the burglar are the qualities of the financier. George Bernard Shaw
We had gay burglars the other night. They broke in and rearranged the furniture. Robin Williams
‘By the way, Doctor, I shall want your cooperation.’
‘I shall be delighted.’
‘You don't mind breaking the law?’
‘Not in the least.’
‘Nor running a chance of arrest?’
‘Not in a good cause.’
‘Oh, the cause is excellent!’
‘Then I am your man.’
‘I was sure that I might rely on you.’ Arthur Conan Doyle, A Scandal in Bohemia
Many a man is saved from being a thief by finding everything locked up. Edgar Watson Howe
A burglar who respects his art always takes his time before taking anything else. O Henry Porter
We knew the front door was always left open, but we broke in just to keep in practice. Doxy turned all the Washburn family photos to the wall so there wouldn’t be any witnesses. Woody Allen, Mere Anarchy
Burglary: half of all the rioters were charged with this offence. The average prison sentence handed out for that charge was fifteen months. Riots: The Aftershock, BBC 2012
The Communist Party of Great Britain ... secret membership files were stored in the flat of a wealthy Party member in Mayfair ... The burglary was carefully arranged or a time when the occupants were away for a weekend in the Lake District ... Party Piece gave MI5 total access to the Party organization. Peter Wright, Spycatcher pp54-55
A knock on the door, and the guy opens the door and there’s two vicars standing there but they’ve got stocking masks over their faces. He says, ‘Yes? Who are you?’ They say, ‘We are Jehovah Burglars ... We are seeking refuge from the police who are persecuting us because of our beliefs.
‘What are your beliefs?’
‘We believe you’ve got a lot of money in this house.’ Spike Milligan sketch
The James Bond plot that took place in Washington – they found these people sneaking in with eavesdropping devices and one of them is a CIA man. Dick Cavett’s Watergate, Dick interviewing Ted Kennedy, PBS 2014
It’s my business. It’s what I do good ... When I go into an apartment I jam the lock. Stick some toothpicks in the keyhole and break them off. That way when the people come back I can hear them trying to get in. Make it out the fire-escape. Panic in Needle Park 1971 starring Al Pacino & Kitty Winn & Alan Vint & Richard Bright & Kiel Martin & Michael McClanathan & Warren Finnerty & Marcia Jean Kurtz & Raul Julia & Angie Ortega et al, director Jerry Schatzberg, opening caption, Hank the burglar to Winn, with Pacino
The thing that really hurts is you know the fucking violation. I mean these people were inside my house. I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore 2017 starring Melanie Lynskey & Elijah Wood & David Yow & Jane Levy & Devon Graye & Christine Woods & Robert Longstreet & Gary Anthony Williams & Lee Eddy & Derek Mears et al, director Macon Blair, babysitter’s bedtime story to child
95% of burglaries and robberies in England and Wales were reportedly not solved last year. Crimewave 2018: Lawless Britain, Channel 5 2018
Does she live alone? Does she have a room-mate? Does she have a boyfriend? Burglarizing their home: going through their personal possessions serve his fantasy that this is actually a consensual relationship and he is getting to know them. Very Scary People: Norcal Rapist I: Phantom Predator, expert, CI 2020
The Norcal Rapist terrorised northern California from 1991 to 2006. His cruel violence causing lasting trauma, tragically altering lives. This twisted deviant studies his victims, their patterns, their habits, he slips into their homes when they are away, memorising the rooms and planning his ambush. Illusive and careful, for a long time it seemed like Norcal was unstoppable. But he left key evidence at every scene. ibid
‘Stalking is an obsessive and compulsive activity where somebody delving into private matters … they create a world in their own mind.’ ibid. shrink
The Norcal Rapist wears a ski-mask, he is armed with knives and guns, he makes each woman his prisoner, the torture lasting for hours on end. The Norcal Rapist is a stalker, a meticulous planner, but he has made some mistakes. Very Scary People: Norcal Rapist: Phantom Predator II
‘The fantasies never stop. They’re still going on in his head.’ ibid. criminologist
‘I don’t want to stand up here and tell the world I’m a rape victim. But then I told myself this is something I have to do, because this guy is a serial rapist.’ ibid.
But advances in DNA technology called Investigative Genetic Genealogy offer hope for investigators in solving the 27-year old case. ibid.
Roy Charles Waller: he is 58 years old, he is a white male … and has worked at UC Berkeley for the last 25 years. ibid.
He was the new kid in town: super popular, all about adventure. They were the neighbours, just down the block, a family in fear. Someone had been sneaking into their home and now someone was in their garage. In a flash it was over. A charismatic kid dead on the floor. What had happened in that garage that night? A neighbour protecting his home or preparing a trap? A teenager, a father, a murder: no-one would be the same. Dateline s1e2: Deadly Exchange, Sky Crime 2020
How far can you go to protect your home and families? ibid.
For 17 years a sexual predator carried out brutal assaults and burglaries on the elderly in South East London. The Real Manhunter, Sky Crime 2021
‘For some reason the aged victims were not as newsworthy.’ ibid. Colin Sutton, investigating rozzer
‘All of a sudden we knew what type of car, what make and model and colour was driven by the Nightstalker.’ ibid.
Delroy Grant was charged with 29 offences of burglary, sexual assault and rape. ibid. caption
A 15 year old boy home alone confronts armed burglars … A burglary happens once every one hundred and eight seconds. Tonight: Crime Squad: Hunting the Burglars, ITV 2022
Why nationally are only 5% of the country’s 250,000 burglaries been cleared up each year? ibid.