We have written this article to help you understand the current risk of a burglary, the burglars themselves in addition to some helpful tips on how to prevent a break in.
Crime Facts
- A burglary happens every 40 seconds in the UK
- Around 75% of burglars use a door of which 3% were open
- Every year around 1 Million burglaries are reported, meaning there are probably many more which were never reported.
- According to a Victim Support survey 1 in 4 victims have been burgled more than once.
- 23% of burglaries happen during the night.
- The majority of burglaries are not planned and are committed by opportunistic thieves.
- Approximately 57% of burglaries occur when the home is occupied.
- A Halifax survey found that around 1/3 of people who have an alarm, rarely activate it.
- Burglaries have been in decline since the 1990s.
- The Police only solve 1 in 10 murders according to The Sun Newspaper. As 17,000 front line police officers have been cut in the last 6 years. And over the same period, of the 493,257 burglaries reported to the Metropolitan police only 8% were solved.
Who is Burgled
- The biggest victims of burglaries are single parent families living in urban or suburban areas.
- The second biggest victims of burglaries are the elderly.
Who burglars
- 88% of burglars are male
- 6% of burglars are females
- 6% of burglaries are committed by both a male and female offender
- Approximately half of burglars are known to the victim, the other half are total strangers.
- The average age of a burglar is between 16-24 with 16% being of school age.
How much it costs
The average cost of a burglary is estimated to be £2,833, this includes fixing any damage and replacing the stolen items.
The most stolen items are
- Cash – Cash is obviously of no surprise, hiding your cash in a heavy duty safe is a sound idea. Not only will they not be able to break into a heavy duty safe but they will not be able to escape with it either.
- Jewellery – Jewellery is of high value and can be sold relatively easily.
- Electronics such as Tvs, Radios and game consoles, phones and tablets.
- Power tools, such as drills, chains saws, hedge trimmers grinders etc as they are relatively expensive items and relatively easy to sell on.
- Alcohol and prescription drugs – Many burglars are drug addicts and steal to feed their habit. This includes stealing drugs and alcohol.
- YOUR IDENTITY, burglars are increasingly looking to steal your identity, with this they can purchase items online take our loans all in your name.
How to protect your home
- Ensure you have high security locks on your front and back doors.
- It sounds obvious but lock both of your doors and windows when leaving your home. The majority of break ins occur through an open door or window.
- Double lock your doors at night. If you have a UPVC door with a letter box, thieves can easily slip through a metal wire and turn the door handle letting their self in. If you double lock the door with your keys this will prevent such intruders.
- Alarms are a very effective way to ensure your home is secure, when you are not occupying the home, as long as you ensure you activate the alarm as almost 1/3 of people fail to.
- Ensure that a qualified locksmith attends to your locks so that they are
