Houses that stand empty for a season give no warning when someone has been at the door. In l’Alfàs, with thousands of residents who spend part of the year elsewhere, the first sign is often something small noticed on the day you come back. This site publishes no crime figures for the town, because we have none we could stand behind; what follows is about what to look for at your own door.
Marks round the keyhole
Fine, bright scratches on the face of the cylinder, around the keyway, are normal: keys make them every day. Look instead for:
- Deep gouges in the cylinder face, or in the door around it.
- Tool marks on the edge of the door near the lock, or on the frame, as if something was pushed into the gap.
- A dent or crush marks on the part of the cylinder that stands out from the door.
A cylinder that has moved
- It sits further out than before, or turns slightly in the door when you touch it. Someone may have gripped it to snap it.
- The handle plate is loose or has a screw missing.
A key that feels different
- Gritty or rough, when it was smooth in spring.
- It turns, but the lock feels loose, or the bolt does not throw fully.
Any of these can have an innocent cause, a stiff lock after months closed most of all. Together, or with marks on the door, they are worth taking seriously.
Four steps, in this order
- Do not go in if the door is open or forced. Ring 112.
- Photograph everything before you touch it: the cylinder close up, the door edge, the frame.
- If nothing was taken, you may still want to tell the police. It helps if anything happens later.
- Have the cylinder looked at. If it was attacked, it is weakened even if it still works.
The break-in page explains how a forced door is made secure, and which stronger locks are worth fitting before you next leave. If it was only a stiff lock after all, an ordinary lock change or a clean may be all it needs; and this guide covers a key that will not turn after months away. Check the terrace door too: what a slider that no longer catches can mean.