When most people think of a home burglary, they generally imagine that the crime happens in the middle of night. In this scenario, they often visualize a stealthy criminal or team of criminals sneaking into a home and quietly placing items into large duffel bags before making their exit.
They do this without waking the family or alerting the neighbors to what they are doing, and they escape before the break of dawn.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Burglaries Don’t Happen Like They Do in Movies
Midnight break-ins are commonplace on tv and movies, real-life burglars behave quite differently. In reality most burglaries happen between 10am and 3pm because robbers want to gain entry to the home while no one is in the home. Entering an empty home means they can get away with making louder noises and have a lower chance of being caught.
With the kids at school and the parents at work, late morning and early afternoon is the perfect time for somebody to try to rummage through a home and take any valuables they can find.
Criminals always go for the most expensive, small items that are easily accessible on tables or countertops or in drawers. Laptops, tablets, jewelry, firearms, and cash are the prime targets of a home robbery, along with anything else which has high resale value.
Know Your Neighbors
Knowing when a robbery is most likely to happen makes it easier to plan ways to prevent a robbery. Having a neighborhood watch designed to keep tabs on houses is a good way to ensure that everyone is invested in protecting the community from crime.
Having engaged neighbors in general is important to securing the area. If your next-door neighbor knows you’re not expecting anyone to come by your house to do work on anything, they’ll be able to prevent a fake moving company or plumber from slipping into your home and making off with your valuables.
What Time of the Year Are Burglaries Most Likely to Happen?
Take steps to prevent break ins especially during the summer months, as this is when break-ins reach their annual peak. Families leave town for vacations, their homes become easy targets. A criminal knowing they have all day or night to rob a home is a criminal that’s confident they can take whatever they want without fear of being caught.
Summer is the season with the highest crime rate, so if you’re worried about something happening to your home while you’re away, there are plenty of different ways to secure it.
Installing a Video Doorbell
Installing a video camera doorbell is one of the newest ways to protect your home from thieves. These systems usually will allow you to lock your home up remotely and also include an app that lets you watch the camera on your phone or tablet while you’re away from your house.
If you are worried about a thief trying to take that package you’ve been waiting for, you can turn the phone on around the time the package is supposed to be delivered and keep track of the package until you’re home. If anything happens, you can alert the police quickly before the thief has much time to make their getaway.
These systems can also allow you to check the door when somebody unexpected arrives at your home and you can see if it’s just a friend coming by for a surprise visit or a stranger who you want nothing to do with. If they get pushy about things, you can call the cops on them without having to engage with them face to face.
Benefits of a Home Security System
If you’re looking into getting a home security system, you should do some research into exactly what kind of system you want and what will work for your family. If you have young children, consider how they may interact with the system. For instance, young children may not understand the system and may be unable to enter in the security codes should they accidentally arm the alarm.
The best security system accommodates the needs of your family and protects them without creating additional issues that could lead to false alarms or require frequent battery changes. Talk to the different security companies to see exactly what sorts of systems they can offer you and what are the price ranges for those systems.
Also ask if the security company has an app for the smartphone that you can use to arm and disarm the system should a family member set it off and call you in a panic.
This will allow you to fix things before the police need to be alerted to the situation, saving you from costly fines for false alarms.
Home Security on a Budget
If these options are too expensive for you, a simple lockbox or small hidden safe might be more than enough to keep a criminal from stealing the things you’re trying to protect. Making sure your windows are always secured and that you have working deadbolt locks on your doors may be more than enough to protect your home.
The average age of a criminal who commits a home burglary is 25, and usually they don’t plan out what they are doing. Therefore, offering up a solid bit of resistance may be enough to encourage them to give up and leave.
To learn more about security systems for your home or business, talk to an KMT Systems Customer Representative at (770) 284-3144
