Time Well Spent. Store a few small items in a wall or mantel clock, as long as the clock itself isn't worth stealing! Tape them to the back or put them in any open cavities. Steer clear of these hiding places, because that's where burglars always look first!
Burglars Know Where to Find the Goods
Most people keep valuables in their bedrooms, so no surprise that is the first stop for a thief.
Burglars don't want to be seen. They looked for homes with big fences and overgrown trees or bushes. “Home away from other homes, blind spots, older window frames, cheap wooden doors,” wrote a burglar. “Large trees, bushes or shrubs around the home, or very reserved and conservative neighbors,” wrote another inmate.
Burglars target the master bedroom where they look for cash, jewelry, electronics, guns and anything else that might be valuable. People often leave money and jewelry in plain sight and in the most obvious and common areas in the master bedroom.
Prescription drugs
“The most popular items that burglars are looking to steal are typically cash, jewelry, and electronics.
Knowing when most burglaries occur is powerful information. The most common times for break-ins occur between 10 am and 3 pm. 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.
Ask friends, family, or neighbors to just be present on your property — use your patio, play in your yard, or bring in the mail. Invite a neighbor to keep a car parked in your driveway. During the holidays, they may be happy if they need overflow for visitors. Install a fake security camera for as low as $8.
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.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not uncommon for burglars to target the same place twice. They believe that if they were able to escape successfully the first time, they would be able to do it again.
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)
The most secure place to install a safe would be at the corner where two outside walls meet. This provides the most protection and support for a heavy safe. In a house that has multiple levels, it's best to keep the safe on the ground floor.
Under the mattress in the master's bedroom
Because it's so commonly used, burglars go all the way to the master's bedroom even though it can be far from the front or back door. The drawers, closets, and space under the bed are still quite lucrative for thieves looking for money and jewellery.
When asked what room holidaymakers should store their valuables in, criminals said children's bedrooms - which many burglars rule a no-go area - as well as under sofas. One offender said they never entered children's bedrooms or playrooms when they broke into homes, calling it an 'unwritten rule'.
Shockingly, 85% of burglars will know their victims.
According to home break-ins statistics, it's far more likely that the person knows you.
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.
Yes, but only under certain circumstances. And you would almost certainly face detailed police questions about your actions. The police and courts would have to be satisfied that when the burglar died, you were engaging in what the law regards as legitimate self-defence.
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.
If you have motion detector lights
Burglars aren't eager to be discovered, meaning a set of motion detector lights outside your home will be among the first things they notice if they're casing your place.
Dogs Deter (Some) Burglars
Burglars like to target homes that are easy to access, and a dog can be the first line of defense to deterring theft. An Idaho news station asked 86 burglars how they break in to homes and learned that most would avoid houses with loud, large dogs.
Unfortunately, there are no exact statistics about how often do burglars get into a house (or condo) by breaking the window. Experience shows, however, that in about 5-15 percent of the cases where criminals entered a house through a window, they did so by breaking the glass.