'Be on the lookout for these markings on your properties. Their meaning: Row 1 (L-R): comes back quick; open with bolt cutter; uninhabited house; careful-police; house already robbed; Row 2: will be welcomed if you speak about God; can be robbed; useless to persist; charitable house; on vacation; Row 3: woman alone; nothing of interest; very good; don't rob; nothing here; Row 4: beware of dog; use crow bar; only women live here; ready to be robbed. '
Chapala police found a notebook containing the wall markings and their meaning in the vehicle of a suspect detained last month. Several area residents, some of whom had been recently robbed, recognized a few of the tags. One Mexican businesswoman interviewed by the Guadalajara Reporter this week said one of the symbols had been sprayed on both her place of business and her home. She immediately painted them over.
Some symbols have been sprayed in paint, others drawn in chalk, say police. They are designed to appear to the unknowing as the unintelligible and insignificant graffiti of adolescents, a form expression becoming increasingly common in Lakeside communities.
However, the symbols of these evidently well-organized thieves, say police, are more often drawn in chalk than normal graffiti and are more frequently placed near doorbells, on doorsteps and under outside doormats as well as on walls.
The LCS website's warning document noted that while "... it is difficult to know the exact timeframe ... it is estimated that robberies have occurred within 13-16 hours after the 'markings' were made."
The police document also contains several pieces of advice for the public: 1) Keep doors well secured 2) Don't think it can't happen to you 3) Before opening (your) door, make sure you know who is there (knocking or ringing your doorbell) 4) If you see any of these signs, erase them as completely (and quickly) as possible 5) Distribute this warning as widely as possible among family, friends and (at) your workplace.
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