In 2022, there were 250,690 crime reports of burglary in England and Wales, an eye-watering average of 686 every single day – and that’s an increase of nearly 7% from the previous year. Our homes are our sanctuary and the last thing anyone wants is their safe space being robbed.
Nearly all of us try our best to ensure that our homes are safe. However, locking your home at night isn’t enough to keep the thieves away. Spencer Murphy, property expert at JustHire, reveals the top things burglars look out for when picking a house to target, the things that you’re doing to make it easy for them, and how you can increase security in your home.
Making it easy
It might seem quite insignificant but leaving your shed or garage unlocked and tools or ladders outside make it much easier for people to break in.
Not only are the contents of the shed and garage easy to steal, but they can use tools they find in there to help them enter your house.
Outdoor storage boxes under windows in the garden can give criminals a leg up and make accessing your house much easier.
Low fences are easy to climb over, especially if there’s an easy landing spot on the other side, but if you can’t replace the fences, planting things around the perimeter of the garden like roses or pyracantha which have prickly stems, can deter people attempting to enter.
Renovations = empty house
If you’re getting your house renovated you might want to rethink getting a skip.
Having scaffolding or a skip on the driveway when renovations are being done on your property can be a sign to burglars that the house is empty.
Tools and building equipment are at risk of being stolen, and if you’re not living there while work is being done, a lack of cars at the house after working hours and on weekends makes it obvious that the property is empty.
Try to see if you can ask a neighbour to park their car on your driveway in the evenings to make it less obvious that the house is vacant while the renovations are being done.
If you have scaffolding, make sure it isn’t accessible, and ensure any windows that the scaffolding is in front of are locked, even when you are home.
Beware of the dog?
If you have a dog, you probably think it will be able to protect you from anyone that tries to enter your home. However, most dogs can be tamed with treats, or simply not hear the most discreet intruders.
Displaying signs that say ‘Beware of the dog’ can be a clear sign to criminals that there’s no security system in place because you’re relying on your dog to keep your house safe, so replace the warnings of dogs with warnings of CCTV instead – it can deter burglars even if you don’t actually have cameras.
Piles of post
If you have a pile of posts on your doormat when you’re away, it could be a clear sign to burglars that your home is empty and safe for them to enter.
But even if you’ve redirected your mail to make sure it doesn’t pile up and cancelled any subscriptions, criminals can still use your post to check if you’re home. Burglars can post fake flyers to keep an eye on whether or not you’re picking up your mail over the course of a few days.
Ask a friend or neighbour to collect your post and make sure it’s not piling up on the doormat to stop criminals from thinking the house is empty.
And different kinds of post
Studies have shown that in 43% of domestic burglaries, the criminal is known by their victim.
Posting on social media when you’re going on holiday or temporarily moving out while having work done on the house can advertise your home as a burglary target, even if your accounts are set to private and your posts are only shown to people you know.