What makes a house attractive to burglars?

High privacy hedges, bushes, and walls around the property. Outdated window and door frames, as well as sliding glass doors or cheap wooden doors. Packages or mail stacking up on a porch or even recycling left out before collection could indicate you have recently gone out of town.

What burglars want most from your home?

Burglars also don't want to spend too long in your house, so they'll likely take off with whatever is handy and profitable. Jewellery, consumer electronics like phones, tablets and laptops as well as portable hardware tools and equipment all rank highly as stolen goods claimed under insurance[1].

What are burglars interested in?

Burglars are after anything valuable you have at home, like electronics, designer clothing, firearms and even furniture. If these items are easily accessible, it's possible a thief could steal them. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to protect your personal items from being stolen in a break-in.

Why do burglars avoid corner homes?

Thanks to better lighting and increased traffic, homes in high-visibility places, like on corner lots, are far less likely to be broken into, Paulsen says. There are simply too many potential ways to be seen.

What makes a house less likely to be broken into?

Homes in high-visibility places, like on corner lots, are far less likely to be broken into. There are simply too many potential ways to be seen. But townhomes, houses in the middle of the block, or houses in a cul-de-sac are much better targets.

Tips to Make Your House Less Attractive to Burglars : Home Safety Tips

Which houses do burglars avoid?

For this reason, burglars usually avoid two story homes, since these items will more than likely be upstairs in the master bedroom and burglars like to minimize the time they stay in a home. For this same reason, burglars usually avoid apartments located on the higher floors.

What type of homes do burglars target?

Where do burglars not look?

Your attic is not likely to be visited by a burglar because they are usually hard to find and access. So, it is always a good idea to store valuables in attic storage containers. As an extra safety precaution make sure to mark them with labels like “winter clothes” or “old shoes” to throw a burglar off of your scent.

What deters burglars the most?

How do most burglars gain entry?

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.

How do thieves mark houses?

What do burglars use to mark houses? Burglars can use any marking tool to “paint” a target house. It could be as simple as chalk, a string tied to a tree branch or lamppost, a smear of paint, or blue or white spray paint.

How do you tell if a burglar is watching your house?

What motivates burglars?

Most studies have concluded that the main motivation for domestic burglary has been the need for money, although the nature of that need is different (see Reppetto, 1974; Shover, 1973).

What month do most burglaries occur?

Most burglaries happen in the summertime between the summer months of June and August. Frequent home invasions happen between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm when the home owners are commonly away from the home. However, 27.6% of all home burglaries, someone is home during a burglary.

Do burglars target empty houses?

Burglars are more likely to target homes that are “routinely vacant during the day.” A serious thief may watch your home for a few days to confirm that you are gone for work before breaking in. Other burglars may just casually knock on the front door to confirm no one is home.

How do you know if your house is being watched?

Should you leave your front porch light on at night?

When you're home at night. This is a good time to leave the porch light on. It alerts burglars to your presence, particularly if indoor lights are on too. The porch light also acts as a spotlight on the front door.

Does leaving lights on deter burglars?

Leaving on lights at all times doesn't seem to be an effective way to deter crimes. With a little planning and some home automation equipment, you can use lighting to your advantage and get better peace of mind. Expect a call from an ADT Security Specialist as soon as possible.

How can I make my house less likely to be robbed?

What type of houses get robbed?

Here are some of the top things burglars look for when targeting homes. Single-family detached homes in the middle of the neighborhood (as opposed to corner units, which are less likely to be burglarized). Homes next to empty lots or without nearby neighbors. High privacy hedges, bushes, and walls around the property.

Where do burglars go first?

And the usual potential places they look at first to find your house key is under the doormat, potted flowerpot and even windows. Hiding your house key at these common accessible places can make it extremely easy for burglars to break in within minutes.

Where is the first place robbers look?

The main bedroom is known as the most common place for valuables to be kept, which is why it's often the first port of call for the burglar on the lookout for cash. They'll look for cash in cupboards, drawers, under the mattress and also in those places you thought they'd never look, like shoe boxes or vases.

How do burglars pick targets?

They often pick a house by surveilling the neighborhood and finding the one with the most predictable patterns of when people come and go. They also look for properties in more rural or isolated parts of the neighborhood, and houses that are well maintained or have fancy cars in the driveway.

What time of night do burglaries occur?

Thieves Tend to Break In Between 10 AM and 3 PM

Movie after movie depicts thieves sneaking into houses under the cover of darkness.

What do thieves look for?

“The most popular items that burglars are looking to steal are typically cash, jewelry, and electronics.