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	Children as young as eight are being &quot;posted&quot; through open windows in order to break into homes, gardai believe.</p>
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	It&#39;s thought the criminals are taking advantage of the recent hot weather by using children to gain access to homes through small windows.</p>
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	The children can then quickly search the house for valuables, or else open the front door for an adult to gain access.</p>
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	Children are not only used because they are small, they are also difficult to prosecute. In some cases, adults will wait outside during burglaries and flee if they see gardai approaching.</p>
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	&quot;It has been sporadic, I would say there have been about five or six in the past week and a half,&quot; said one garda source.</p>
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	The gangs use children as young as eight or nine years old, he added.</p>
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	Burglars are using the ploy to break into properties around the midlands.</p>
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	Members of community alert schemes in Co Offaly were urged to be aware of leaving windows open and warned to be on the on the lookout for the criminals.</p>
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	They were informed by text that &quot;a number of burglaries have occurred in Laois and Offaly over the past week which it is believed young kids are being used to enter small windows of houses&quot;.</p>
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	A 12-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of burglary in the midlands last week.</p>
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	http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/children-posted-through-windows-to-raid-homes-30466132.html</p>
