How do Burglars Choose their Target House?

Statistics tell us that burglaries are extremely common - and becoming even more common. If you would like to avoid getting involved as part of these statistics, it’s not so difficult to make your home a little more secure - and one of the first steps you can take is to start thinking like a professional burglar does. If you can do that you can make it less likely that burglars will target your house - they obviously don’t want to get caught, so they minimize the odds by looking for easy targets.

Not all burglars are professionals - some amateurs will just smash and grab something from your garage, or slip in through an unlocked door while you’re out. But professional burglars think things through more carefully in order to maximize their catch and minimize the risk.

The first thing to notice is that they have to approach the house by stealth. That’s why, not surprisingly, most burglaries take place during the night. Lighting your home well can help shift the odds. Look especially for those corners and windowless areas that lead to a point of entry out of sight.

Secure best those areas where a burglar could enter unseen. In most homes that will be on the side, but not always. It depends on how the house is constructed and how the houses nearby are situated. Sliding glass windows are an especially weak point and need at minimum a good strong wooden or metal dowel.

But that form of protection will offer no more than a two second delay if your window can be easily lifted out of the frame. Preventing that is simple and inexpensive.

Just drill a small hole through the metal or wood window frame into the wall frame holding it. Insert a small dowel into the hole, or better still obtain a small kit that contains a spring loaded mechanism, similar to some screen door kits. The kits screw into the frame.

Depending on what they think your home holds, and who or what is nearby, some professionals will risk breaking glass to enter. A set of wrought iron bars in front of the windows may be called for. Your last, but not necessarily least, line of defense is an alarm system that senses vibration or breaks in the glass.

Look for areas where you can trim back bushes from the home that thieves can use to hide behind. Having an easily visible perimeter around the house makes it less likely a thief will want to enter.

Most burglaries are committed when there is no one at home - it lessens the burglar’s risk of being disturbed and recognized. So getting someone to watch your house while you’re away will go a long way to lessening the chances of your house being targeted. It’s especially useful if you can get a house-sitter for the periods when you’re away longer than a couple of days.

We have to be honest with ourselves and admit that if a burglar has decided that he - or she - wants to rob your home, there isn’t much we can do about it. But fortifying your home with just the few steps we have outlined here, will go a long way to convincing most burglars to look elsewhere.