Unfortunately for them, the patrol had noted their registration number, and colleagues in Fethiye soon tracked them down.

Lucrative career
The story that then unfolded was quite remarkable. It turns out that the father is the burglar in this family team, with his wife acting as lookout, and their son, barely a teenager, the getaway driver.

Their professional career must have been quite lucrative, because the family has four properties. In the house where they were arrested, police discovered 5 TV sets, 3 laptop computers, and other assorted stolen items, including digital cameras and electronic games.

And in a bizarre twist, it transpires that the husband has a number of wives. That should make for an interesting scene at prison visting times.

The man and woman are now in prison awaiting trial, and the authorities are currently considering what to do in respect of their teenage son. If this couple are found guilty, they can expect a long prison sentence. Two burglars caught in Kalkan last year, were both sentenced to a term of 13 years imprisonment.

Stepping up efforts
KTLN can confirm that the Jandarma has been stepping up its efforts, in the fight against property crime, over recent months.  KTLN has agreed not to publish certain details of ongoing operations, but we can assure our readers that senior officers are determined to do all they can, to catch these criminals.

The Jandarma point out that these recent arrests were down to their officers spotting suspicious behaviour, and acting upon it.  They have reiterated their call for the community to be observant, and to report any behaviour that arouses suspicion. You can call them at any hour of the day, and they will take your call seriously. The number to dial is 0242 844 3005.

With the best will in the world, the Jandarma cannot be everywhere, so please help them to help us, by providing them with information they can act on.

As reported on KTLN yesterday, the Jandarma and Belediye are establishing a project to look into the feasibility of installing CCTV cameras in and around Kalkan.

Home security
You can read about Home Security in the KTLN Knowledge Bank, where you will find lots of useful tips.

Also, don't forget that if you own a property in Kalkan, (or rent long term), you can register under the Jandarma's Emergency ID scheme. 

Don't have nightmares
Finally, we feel obliged to do a Nick Ross, and tell KTLN readers not to have nightmares.  It is undoubtedly a dreadful experience if you are a victim of crime, and we don't seek to minimise that fact. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is uniqely a Kalkan problem.

In fact, we still receive Neighbourhood Watch emails from our time in the UK, (we never got round to cancelling them). It is a real eye-opener, to see that so called respectable, and sought after areas, are routinely subject to so much criminal activity.

If you want to see crime statistics for your part of the UK, check out this link: http://www.police.uk