Bring burglars to heel

If you completely close all of your blinds and curtains or leave a lamp on when you head off for holidays, you may be signalling to burglars that your home is empty.

That’s the finding of a study into the tricks of the trade for home robbers in Australia, conducted by Perth’s Edith Cowan University.

Researchers from the university’s school of law and justice teamed up with the Australian Institute of Criminology to interview 69 criminals who admitted to having committed a burglary.

The study found that burglaries were usually spontaneous and the homes that were most vulnerable were the easiest to gain access to.

On average it took burglars just five to 15 minutes to break into a home and make off with cash or goods – often worth up to $5000 per home.

The biggest deterrent identified by the thieves was decidedly low-tech – the presence of a dog. About 53 per cent of offenders said a canine at a home would prevent them from committing a crime.

Short of getting a dog, the study’s lead researcher, Dr Natalie Gately, says people should use their common sense in remembering to lock doors and windows and use a house alarm.

Police suggest leaving blinds and curtains partially closed – shut enough to prevent thieves from seeing in but open enough to create doubt as to whether someone might be home.

Leaving lights on late at night was considered a poor attempt at making the house appear occupied. And other tell tale signs for burglars included overflowing post boxes, uncollected newspapers and rubbish bins left outside.

Rather than leaving a light on the entire time you are away, it is suggested you set one or more lights on timers.

Stace Tzamtzidis, general manager of energy efficiency at Clipsal by Schneider Electric, says timers are one of the cheapest ways to help make your home look lived in when not at home.

“Timers … can range from $15 to $75 depending on the brand, battery life [and] size of light,” Tzamtzidis says.

Other products include motion sensors and sunset switches (some of which also have timers), which turn a light on at or near nightfall.

Despite police in many states and territories advising people to leave a radio on when they are away from home, the thieves reported that a blaring radio was often a signal that a home was empty.

Other common mistakes made by householders included:

• Leaving windows and doors unlocked
• Allowing access down the side of the house
• Valuables in full view
• Lack of an alarm or failure to switch an alarm on
• Carelessly hidden spare keys
• Uncollected rubbish bins
• Social media status indicating homeowners are away
• In a salient warning for the party season, the study also found that some robbers reported brazenly entering homes when functions were being held.

“With summer here, many of us hold parties at our houses and may not take notice of people we do not recognise,” says Gately.

“We need to be alert to unknown intruders and keep the front door locked if everyone is out the back of the house.”

For tips on home security, see here.

Story source: www.domain.com.au