“The most popular items that burglars are looking to steal are typically cash, jewelry, and electronics.
Hedges, trees, fences, and other objects that hide major points of entry are promising features for burglars, as it makes them harder to be seen while they are checking the house or breaking in. Doors with windows in them provide a way to look into the home to check for people or valuables before breaking in.
Freezer. If you've thought of the freezer as a sneaky hiding spot, chances are a robber has, too. A burglar won't rummage through your entire stack of frozen peas and fish sticks, but if you leave your treasures in something out-of-place, such as a sock, the thief will be onto you.
Among the most surprising things that burglars steal are food and other everyday items. Whether they're hungry or not, that block of cheese in your fridge could disappear, along with energy drinks, packaged snack foods, cigarettes and even laundry detergent. High-end perfumes, like Chanel No.
The four main ways a burglar will choose their job include the following: Look for vulnerable folks (elderly, those living alone, easy targets, etc.) Opportunistic (very little forethought or planning) Desirability of property (smarter criminals)
Hint: Your master bedroom is the first stop. There are many vulnerable spots in your home. Most people keep valuables in their bedrooms, so no surprise that is the first stop for a thief.
Jewellery, consumer electronics like phones, tablets and laptops as well as portable hardware tools and equipment all rank highly as stolen goods claimed under insurance[1]. A distressing trend is the increase in burglars targeting homes to steal car keys.
Do security lights deter burglars? Yes, they can. Light makes it hard for them to conceal their identity, so they are more likely to find a darker home.
This blunts anxiety and gives them greater confidence. It also helps explain why so many burglars urinate and defecate in homes they are robbing. Walsh's sources said it was a combination of drink, fear and physical exercise and a reluctance to risk being trapped in a small room such as a toilet.
If you have plenty of time to hide, find a good, well-concealed spot behind a piece of furniture or in a closet. Try to avoid obvious spots the person might look, like under a bed or behind a door. If you need to find a hiding spot quickly, duck behind a pair of curtains or underneath a table.
Thieves Tend to Break In Between 10 AM and 3 PM
Movie after movie depicts thieves sneaking into houses under the cover of darkness. But, as noted in When Do Most Burglaries Occur?
They often pick a house by surveilling the neighborhood and finding the one with the most predictable patterns of when people come and go. They also look for properties in more rural or isolated parts of the neighborhood, and houses that are well maintained or have fancy cars in the driveway.
Burglars have been known to 'mark' houses of interest as a reminder to themselves and as a signal to accomplices. This could be a graffiti symbol, a small dot of paint, or a piece of string tied to your fence.
Rather than being guarded by night, most burglars choose the daytime to attempt a break-in, targeting homes when they believe no one will be present.
Unfortunately, after one “successful” burglary, intruders are likely to come back and target the same home again. Some studies show that only 1.2% of burgled residences experienced 29% of all burglaries. Repeat burglaries also often occur quickly after the first one—25% within one week and 51% within one month.
The average burglar takes less than a minute to break into your home and overall 8 to 12 minutes to get out again. In the first minute, the burglar lurks outside your property, looking for signs that there is no one there and assessing whether your house is a good target.
Most of the time, they're not “breaking” in at all
“Most burglars aren't using ladders or ropes or digging holes to get into your home,” says Emily Patterson, a home security expert for ASecureLife.com. According to her research, an overwhelming majority of burglars enter homes through the doors and windows.
Front door: 34% of burglars twist the doorknob and walk right in. First-floor windows: 23% use a first-floor open window to break into your home. Back door: 22% come in through the back door. Garage doors: 9% gain entrance through the garage.
Almost half of robbery victims were under 25 years of age. Victims in the three youngest age groups, 12-15, 16- 19, and 20-24, had essentially the same robbery rate, which was substantially higher than ra tes for persons in older age groups. As people aged they were less likely to be victimized.
Any house that's secluded may also be a target. Corner homes are iffy. They allow thieves to scope the area (including your habits) easily by simply driving by and naturally slowing or stopping for a turn. Depending on your neighborhood's layout, they may also be less visible to neighbors and police.
According to data from the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division, larceny-theft is one of the most common types of robbery.