More homes are being burgled now that the coronavirus restrictions are being lifted and people are out and about, the Telegraaf said on Monday.

Since the rules were first relaxed almost two months ago, the number of burglaries has shot up 36% and, if the trend continues, ‘we are heading back to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels,’ national police spokesman Sybren van der Velden said.

‘We saw the number of burglaries increase at every point when the measures were relaxed,’ Van der Velden said. ‘And we can see the impact of the end of the curfew on April 28 as well.’

Insurance company Interpolis runs a ‘burglary barometer’, which shows that the rise in home break-ins is by far the biggest in the province of Utrecht, with a rise of 182%. In Limburg and Overijssel the increase is over 80% and in Noord and Zuid-Holland, 25%.

The risk of being burgled also increases during the hot weather, as people live windows open, Van der Velden said.

National statistics agency CBS said in March that the number of burglaries at private homes in 2020 had gone down by 23%.

The drop in burglaries was particularly notable in Amsterdam, where the total was down by 1,000 or 29%. In The Hague and Rotterdam, the number of burglaries fell by 23% and in Utrecht 10%. Nationwide, police recorded 30,000 burglaries last year.