Have You Had Some Foot Action?

At 2.30pm on a sunny Tuesday my doorbell rang. I paused the telephone conversation I was having to head to my front door. As I opened the door a flash of blue entered my vision. Two police officers stood in front of my house. My heart missed a beat - the first thought being the worst.... then I noted the smile on the  face before me. Bad news isn't brought with a smile, I thought.

A policeman stood before me, in full police jacket and hat, and a policewoman stood a little behind him, giving the impression of loitering in the street. She smiled over his shoulder.

"Goedemiddag mevrouw," he began. And he went on to tell me that they had seen that my kitchen window was open and had rung the doorbell to see if I was in. Baffled I stated the obvious, "Ja, ik ben thuis....." Then he explained.

It's part of a national campaign to warn residents about the risks of burglary if you fail to secure your windows and doors before you leave the house.

Had I not been home but had left my kitchen window open I would now be the not so proud owner of a white footprint shaped note saying,

"This footprint could have been made by a burglar."

Last week alone in the Haaglanden region, police (and volunteers) left 900 footprints in houses to warn residents to secure their houses in their absence.

For more information and prevention tips see the Haaglanden police website (in Dutch) or the special folder.