Residential Burglary

security camera

Residential Burglary – what you need to know. 

It is important for you to know as much as possible about residential burglary and how burglars operate in order to know how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of this personal and affecting crime. Below are a number of facts to keep in mind when protecting your home against burglary. As our website states, there are over 78,000 burglaries in London per year, with £1,680 on average being stolen in those burglaries. An astounding 66% of London homes do not possess adequate security, despite the fact that 83% of burglars are deterred and warned away by an alarm.

You should refrain from leaving packaging outside your front door that was from an expensive item. This is because burglars are more likely to target homes that they think contain valuables. The less desirable you make your possessions look, the less likely your house is to be burgled.

Burglars will look for homes with windows or doors left open or vulnerable features that they can exploit. You can see their path to a burglary as a ‘path of least resistance.’

You will have assumed this already, but burglars are aware of the times that people are likely to be away from their house, such as during the school run in the mornings and afternoons and in the holidays (school half terms and summer getaways).

Burglars typically do not want to be seen or heard and if they feel that they would be noticed by a neighbour or passerby then they are more likely to feel exposed and may move on to find somewhere else to burgle.

Burglars often choose a home because they’ve spotted a specific vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle they want to steal – and the keys are more than likely to be inside the residence. Perhaps it would be best to cover your vehicles under some protective sheeting or, if you can, store them in your garage.

That said, sheds and garages are often vulnerable as they are not that secure and contain tools that the burglar can use to assist them to gain entry to a home. It is important to see the bigger picture! Even if you give your shed or garage a fraction of the security that you give your house, you will be in a much safer position to protect yourself from burglary.

It’s a fact that many burglars return to homes that they’ve previously burgled because the homeowner failed to upgrade security following the first burglary. They sometimes return to an area to try to burgle a nearby home that they spotted while committing a previous break-in. Even more reason for you to ensure you keep your home as safe as houses.

Daniel Lichtenstein is the founder and CEO of NES Security, a leading provider of security solutions in the United Kingdom.