Quick, will a burglar most likely rob you at night or during the day? Are there more home robberies during a down economy? What precautions should you take when you leave your home unattended while at work or away on a vacation? What is the most targeted item burglars steal? The answers to these common invasion questions might surprise you. First, let's make it clear that home and business burglaries happen anywhere and all the time. It's a common misconception that only crime happens in the ghetto.
Crime actually happens everywhere and to all types of people, homes, and businesses. But not matter where you live or work, you can outsmart a burglar and crime is preventable. Let's take a look at the answers to those early questions and apply them to outsmarting a burglar.
A higher percentage of home burglaries happen during the day while everyone is away from their homes, but a higher percentage of business robberies happen at night while everyone is back at home. A security alarm system with monitoring is the best way to prevent burglaries at both homes and businesses and adding security cameras increase the chances of preventing your location from being victimized. While security alarms and security cameras will cost you money to be installed there are several free steps you can take to protect your location.
Cutting back bushes and trimming trees will remove hiding spots for burglars to lower windows and by cutting low hanging branches you will exterior access to your second story. Don't leave spare keys in easy hiding places or leave your windows or doors unlocked and make sure to keep your home's exterior clear of newspapers, mail, flyers or anything else that will scream "no one has been home in a while." Staging the exterior of your home will go a long way in burglar prevention. Create a sense that your location will be too hard to rob by posting a beware of large dog sign, placing men's boots on the front porch, and putting security alarm yard signs out front.
Statics have shown that there is actually less home robberies during economic downturns due to the fact that more people are home in neighborhoods creating fewer opportunities for burglars. This does not mean that prevention isn't a key deterrent and economies universally change year after year and while one neighborhood might have more homeowners at home due to job losses, other neighborhoods could have more employed workers leaving their homes open to theft. On the other hand businesses see an uptick in theft during economic downturns as more people shop lift and look for easy targets to help them get by while money is tight or none existent. Businesses should take additional steps to install security cameras to prevent shop lifting and break-ins.
If you work long hours or have an upcoming vacation you should take extra precautions to prevent home theft. Advanced security alarm systems have remote control services that put in control of your home no matter where you are in the world through smart phone and PC applications. You can now turn your lights on and off remotely creating the image of being home. You can now arm and disarm your system remotely to allow pet walkers and cleaners into your home without having to provide a spare key and you can now visually watch your home with wireless security cameras so that you always have your eyes on your home. You should also make sure your neighbors are aware of your vacation to assist you with a watchful eye and make sure no papers, mail, flyers or anything else piles up at your home while you are away.
So, what do you think one of the top items being stolen today is? A big screen TV, jewelry, money? While burglars do target all these items, one of the most sought after items that burglars steal today is copper and boy do they make a mess stealing it. Copper comes in several different sources that burglars target from the wires inside of walls to pipes to air conditioner units and businesses aren't the only targets. Vacant homes have been hit hard over the last few years. Burglars will break into a vacant home and rip copper right out of the drywall. They will pull it right out of an A/C unit and break through walls to pull out piping.
It creates a huge mess and the damage from the robbery is far greater. There aren't any free solutions to prevent copper robberies. Alarm systems and security cameras are the best way to go. A/C units can be rigged with a special device that ties into the alarm systems, cameras can be mounted in various areas of a business, and homes with alarm systems will help prevent the opportunity from ever happening. Flexible contract and lease terms can be discussed with security dealers to provide temporary options on vacant homes so that the location has protection with a reasonable solution.
Now that you are a genius at preventing burglaries at your home and business you can make changes to your location and outsmart even the brightest of criminal minds. It's important to constantly think like a burglar and stage your locations in a manner that will deter crime not invite it in.
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