It’s bad enough to return home to find a burglar has ransacked your house and stolen many treasured belongings. For the thief to then post a picture of himself on your Facebook page – while wearing your winter jacket and waving a wad of your cash – is brazen in the extreme.

But that’s exactly what happened to Washington Post reporter Marc Fisher and his family last week. At some point between 10am and 12.45pm last Friday, a burglar forced his way into Mr Fisher’s Washington, D.C. property by kicking in a door. He then proceeded to steal items including a laptop, iPod and cash from Mr Fisher’s 15-year-old son.

Which is when the thief felt compelled to rub salt into the wound. Mr Fisher writes: ‘He opened my son’s computer, took a photo of himself sneering as he pointed to the cash lifted from my son’s desk, and then went on my son’s Facebook account and posted the picture for 400 teenagers to see. ‘In the picture, the man is wearing my new winter coat, the one that was stolen right out of the Macy’s box it had just arrived in.’

One police officer attending the crime scene even commented: ‘I’ve seen a lot, but this is the most stupid criminal I’ve ever seen.’ Although the photo shows the burglar wearing his newly-acquired coat with the hood pulled up, the full frontal shot clearly shows the burglar’s face. So clear, that the reporter thought that would be the end of the matter and detectives would make an arrest almost immediately.

Astonishingly, despite the seemingly watertight nature of the case, police have yet to arrest the suspect.

Or, is it just a case of incredible arrogance. Let’s face it, ..the cops have better things to do than go after criminals.