Six Ways to Make a Burglar's Life Easier

22-Jul-2010

Surveys carried out of reformed burglars by More Than, part of the RSA Group, provide a fascinating - and rather scary - insight into how we make it far too easy for someone to break into our homes.   

Below are six common mistakes that reformed burglars claim once made their jobs much easier:

Hide your keys somewhere really obvious

Like under the doormat, under the flowerpot or behind that handy brick by the door.  It may mean that you lose your keys less often, but 78% of the ex-burglars surveyed said that clumsily hidden keys were the first thing they would look for when attempting a break-in.

Leave the window open

If you don't have air conditioning and it's the middle of summer, you probably don't enjoy being treated to that blast of stale, warm air when you arrive home after a day at the office.  However, this is still no excuse for leaving one of your windows open when you're not in.  58% of respondents said that they would routinely gain entry to a house through an open window.    

Announce on Twitter when you're going to be out

You know you're in the digital age when would-be burglars are logging on to social networking sites like facebook and twitter to find out a suitable time to rob you. 12% of former burglars said that they would check your updates to find out when you were going to be out of the house.  Maybe it's time to stop announcing those weekends away online, and stick to making the people sitting next to you jealous instead.

Put a post-it note on the door for the delivery people

You know the situation.  You're expecting a delivery 'between 7am and 7pm' but you have to nip to the shop.  Of course, you can guarantee that in that 15-minute period, the delivery person will have been and gone.  It's tempting to leave a note on the door begging them to at least call you before they hit the road.  However, 62% of ex-thieves claim that 5 minutes is all they need to make a clean sweep of your house, so it is best not to take the risk.

Keep your car keys somewhere conspicuous

34% of survey respondents said that car keys are the first items that they would look for when they were inside a home, so if you have left them in a little bowl by the door, you might as well have gift-wrapped your precious motor and stuck a bow on top.  It may be convenient to leave your car keys by the door, but consider hanging them off a hook inside a cupboard instead to ensure that they are less conspicuous.

Advertise your new flat-screen TV by leaving the packaging outside by the bin

If you've just bought a shiny new gadget, don't tell the entire street about it by leaving the box out on display.  20% of former burglars admitted that this is a sign that they would look for to determine whether a house was worth breaking into.  

Former burglar-turned-Church minister Richard Taylor commented on the findings: "Homeowners should sit up and take note of these results, the importance of home security cannot be overlooked, yet surprisingly many homeowners fail to take even the simplest precautions to protect themselves. Basic things like being more aware, having a burglar alarm fitted and even getting a dog can act as deterrents to thieves on the hunt for an invitation."

Of course these precautions are not always enough, and in fact 90% of the respondents agreed that home burglary does not really pose a challenge in many cases.  To limit the possibility of becoming a victim, make sure that you have up-to-date security, in the forms of certified locks, a burglar alarm, or even CCTV.  Also, ensure that you have adequate home insurance, so that you do not have to foot the entire bill if you lose valuable possessions in a burglary.  Click here to compare home insurance deals.