Want to rob potential burglars of the opportunity of breaking into your own home? Learn a few basic things about home break-ins – just to consider them from a different perspective. The perspective of the burglar. While not all cases are the same and not all burglars operate in the exact same way, there’s a modus operandi. Know that and you know your burglar.
And there’s one more thing. We often do things – or the opposite, we don’t do things, which lead to one thing: burglaries. In other words, we may put our own homes in jeopardy without knowing it. Well, time to consider all that and leave no place for the burglars to hide and no chance to get inside. Not in our home. If we all do that, burglars will soon be out of business. Sounds good?
Home burglaries: the When and the Where
Most home burglaries happen during the day. Why? Because we all think that most burglaries happen at night and so we are caught off guard. Also, because most people go to work during the day. The kids are in school. The house is empty. An excellent opportunity for burglars. And then, when we see people approaching a property during the day, we don’t get as suspicious as when this happens during the night. Right?
Always remember that apart from some exceptions, burglars are opportunists. They intend to steal, not harm. And so, they prefer to enter homes when they think they are empty. Or when they think they will go in and out unnoticed. That’s why most burglaries last max a few minutes. Also, most of them take place when the family goes on vacations – hence, around holidays and during the summer.
It makes sense to say that burglars prefer to try their luck in remote than crowded areas. Our habit to leave main doors around the house unlocked or even wide open just makes it easy for them. They simply walk in. Same thing when we leave some windows open – or even cracked. We, unwillingly, make it easy for them to get inside.
Private homes & rentals: The typical targets
More often than not, rentals are the usual targets – compared to private residences. That’s easy to understand if you consider that a homeowner is willing to spend quite a lot for high security locks and security systems compared to tenants who don’t want to spend money on a property which is not theirs. Now, if you rent a home, you need to remember that the people at stake – should a burglary take place, are your family. If you are a landlord, you need to understand that burglaries may cause significant property damage and put your tenants at stake.
Change habits: your neighborhood’s burglar is watching
It might sound strange to you but most burglars live close by. They know the neighborhood and often watch the residents, trying to understand their habits, when they come and go, when they go away, who buys stuff often and things like that. And so, they make targets and try to find the best opportunity in order to break-in.
Try to take them out of their comfort zone by changing your routine. Don’t provoke them by leaving expensive bikes, tools, motorcycles out in the garden. Of course, you shouldn’t give signs of absence, like leaving the home dark for days, letting the mailbox fill, etc. Even if you go away, have someone close to you pass by to turn on lights, pick the mail, open the blinds, and show signs of life.
Home burglaries happen every single day, every single hour, even every few minutes. And although nobody can guarantee that the best door locks and the best door and the best thief deterrents will put your home off the list of targets, the sum of all these things combined with knowing how burglars operate will surely reduce the possibility of a burglary.