Cecilia and I had a late night out Saturday visiting with friends. When we came back to the apartment at 3am, the door to the apartment was pushed open. (The entrance to the apartment is from the top floor terrace of the building). We stood there for a minute, looking around, trying to determine what to do. Concerned about the possibility of encountering someone hiding on the inside, I didn’t feel good about walking into the apartment. I decided that we should go down to the street to see if we could find a policeman.
There is usually a policeman standing on the corner of our block, but tonight there wasn’t. We waited around to see if a police car would cruise by but no such luck. We remembered that there was a police station about four blocks away on Garay, so we walked there. When we told the police the situation with the apartment, they were very quick to respond.
Five police officers jumped into two cars and drove us to the apartment. It’s the first time that I had been in the back of one of those tiny police cars that they use here in Buenos Aires but, I have to say, those little cars move pretty fast.
We got to the building. One policeman stayed on the street and the other four went into the building. Cecilia and I followed them up the steps, no elevator here. At the top landing we noticed that the police had their pistols drawn. We stayed back while three of the policemen went inside the apartment; the other cop stayed out on the terrace in front of us by the door.
They searched the place and found no bad guys. We went inside and checked for the valuables and everything was where we left it, so we evidently didn’t experience a break-in afterall. Even though the door wasn’t closed, it was locked so we’re not sure how it came open. Maybe it was just the wind, but it remains a mystery.
I must say that I am impressed with the response of the Buenos Aires police. I didn’t expect that they would send out so many officers but they were concerned and professional. When it turned out to be nothing, they were courteous and didn’t seem at all bothered that we had asked them to come up to the apartment. It’s nice to have a positive experience with the police.
July 30th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
How could the door be locked yet not closed? It’s good to know that nothing bad happened, but I would still be very uneasy living there without putting additional locks on the door. I used to live in that area of town, and in my opinion it is a bit dangerous — too close to Constitucion. Take care!
July 31st, 2006 at 12:29 am
Barbara, thanks for your concern.
>How could the door be locked yet not closed?
Locked in the sense that the dead bolt was still in the extended (locked) position but the door had been opened somehow anyway.
Despite the problem I don’t think that it reflects on the neighborhood, though I also generally try to avoid wandering around the area immediately around Constitucion station. But, crime can and does happen in every barrio, as it does in every city in the world.
My main point in this post was to point out that the police, which often are criticized here, took the situation seriously.
July 31st, 2006 at 2:16 pm
But whoever did that to you once (however they did it) could do it again. Maybe they got a copy of the key, maybe they somehow forced the door open without unlocking it — it doesn’t really matter. Regardless I would get the lock combination changed (and put on a second lock, “por las dudas”…). It isn’t that expensive, and (IMHO) it is well worth the cost and effort. Actually, I am paranoid enough to recommend that you get one locksmith to change the combination, then get another to put on a second lock. That way nobody has the full set of keys but you.
It is surprising that the police took it so seriously (maybe they were just bored?). But I still would not put too much confidence in them. If they had surprised someone in the apartment, who knows how they would have handled it. From the stories I have read in the papers, it seems like there are some trigger-happy cops here, and by-standers can easily get caught in cross-fire.
Anyway, good luck and I hope you never have to call the police again!
July 31st, 2006 at 10:29 pm
Hi Liked reading through your blog .Thanks for sharing.Wish you well