Half the Country Affected

Teenage Blitz Heists: Burglaries Just to Be “Cool”

On the night of October 11, two young burglars were caught on camera in an Italian restaurant in Vienna.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg, stock.adobe.com)

Across half of Austria, police have recorded a sharp rise in break-ins at stores and restaurants since the summer months. The perpetrators of these lightning-fast heists are mostly very young and do not commit these crimes for the expected loot. Rather, they are apparently motivated by a desire for recognition among their friends.

When Florian Hoffer arrived at his restaurant on Sunday, October 11, shards of glass were scattered across the floor. Teenagers had smashed the glass door and broken into “Spaghetteria Il Mercato” in Vienna’s 2nd district.

While the damage is extensive, the haul—consisting of an iPad and the day’s tip revenue—is rather meager—a fact that the state police are likely well aware of by now. These days, a break-in no longer guarantees the biggest haul. These very young burglars are after something else: namely, recognition within their own circle of friends.

That’s how it looked in many establishments in Vienna’s Nordbahnviertel last week.(Bild: zVg)

The haul is usually quite modest
What may sound absurd at first glance is reality. More and more often, investigators are poring over surveillance camera footage from stores and restaurants showing young burglars filming themselves during their heists. And then, as in the case of a hair salon in Vienna, they made off with nothing more than a pair of scissors and a can of hairspray.

Since the summer, we’ve seen a significant increase in break-ins at retail stores and restaurants.

Das Bundeskriminalamt auf Anfrage der „Krone“

Videos set to rap music are shared with friends
Why they do this is obvious. They apparently want to be seen as “cool” among their friends. To that end, they film the crime, laugh at the camera, add rap music to the videos, and then share them with their friends on TikTok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and other platforms. 

Whoever has pulled off more likely enjoys even greater prestige within the group. The ones who suffer are the business owners, who—in the truest sense of the word—have to sweep up the shards and deal with insurance claims and lost revenue.

Spaghetteria owner Florian Hoffer also fell victim to young burglars.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

More than 20 business break-ins per day
A significant portion of the spate of break-ins since the summer has affected the capital, where—for example, in the Nordbahnviertel or along Mariahilfer Straße—several stores in a single alley have been broken into in a single night. In July and August—during the vacation season—the police recorded a massive increase in commercial break-ins, and not just in Vienna. Across Austria, there were reportedly more than 20 burglaries per day at businesses and stores in some areas.

A Wave of Crimes from Vorarlberg to Vienna
In addition to Vienna, the states of Vorarlberg, Salzburg, and Upper Austria have also seen significant increases in commercial break-ins. In August, for example, officers apprehended a group led by a 14-year-old Syrian who is believed to be responsible for a large number of similar break-ins in Bludenz (Vorarlberg). At the end of August, a gang of youths was caught in Perg, Upper Austria, after breaking into various restaurants. In June, two minors used a hammer to break into a tobacco shop in the city of Salzburg. Their attempt to flee with cigarettes as loot failed. 

Store Break-Ins Replace Car Break-Ins
What is striking—aside from the young age of the suspects—is the high number of Syrian minors involved in these series of break-ins. What’s also striking: At the same time as the sharp rise in commercial break-ins, the number of car break-ins apparently plummeted. It therefore stands to reason that the burglars have likely shifted their focus to local establishments.

When these very young perpetrators are caught by the police, they usually don’t care. No wonder—many of them aren’t even 14 years old yet and thus get off scot-free.