How to keep your home safe when you're on holidays

Burglary is a crime of opportunity. It is well known that thieves look for houses with special characteristics before deciding to steal. Knowing what thieves look for can aid ordinary people in providing common sense protection for their home and contents.

What is a burglar?

A burglar is a thief, a criminal who steals from people’s homes. In most cases the thief will target homes that make the crime simple and quick. Burglars carefully target homes based on ease of access and escape.

A safe home looks occupied.

An empty house will attract a thief. If a house is empty it is less likely that the thief will get caught. An empty house also means that there is more time for the burglar to escape, fewer witnesses to the crime and less chance that the police will be called immediately.

Residents should try to avoid the appearance of an empty house. One way to do this is to leave either the TV or radio on,so noise comes from the home. It is also useful to open the curtains or blinds every morning so that the house looks occupied. Make sure that lawns and yards are always tidy so that an impression that the house is cared for is conveyed to anybody contemplating a crime.

A safe home has locked windows and doors.

Burglary is an opportunistic crime. A thief will target homes which are easy to enter and leave. In many cases of burglary, the thief has found a spare key or an unlocked window and used this as an opportunity to enter the home and steal goods.

Leaving doors unlocked and windows open, even a little, can be an invitation to a burglar. Make sure that all doors are dead locked and windows key locked. These simple precautions can prevent a disaster.

Burglars like homes that cannot be seen from the street

Thieves like to target homes that have their front doors or windows obscured by foliage, trees or bushes. The coverage means that they can enter the premises without being seen by neighbours. To prevent this, make sure that all trees and shrubs are pruned so that they do not provide easy access for criminals.

Thieves also like houses that back onto alleys or laneways. These little used streets can act as an easy escape route for somebody who wants to commit a crime.

Burglars like small portable goods

Thieves like to steal goods that are small and easy carried. This means that they can escape quickly with the stolen property and that it is easily sold for a quick profit. Sometimes burglars target homes because they see empty packaging outside the house. For example, the packaging of a new TV set. The thief sees this and realises that there is a new, valuable and portable object in the home, waiting to be stolen.

To avoid becoming a target, it is wise to discard and destroy packaging or boxes of newly purchased items.  Do not advertise your new electronic purchases to the neighbourhood.

Taking common sense precautions can lessen the possibility of theft and home invasion. Keeping the house locked, keeping in touch with neighbours and making the home seem occupied are easy ways to keep your home safe.

references:

http://www.aic.gov.au/events/aic%20upcoming%20events/1997/~/media/conferences/outlook97/prenzler.pdf

Tim Prenzler and Michael Townsley, Preventing Burglary