Troubling Home Burglary Statistics and How to Protect Your Valuables

home break-insAl Feldman
Home burglary is a crime that many people think won’t happen to them. The truth is that home break-ins happen in all types of neighborhoods, at all times of day, and affect all economic classes. A little bit of prevention can go a long way towards keeping your home and your valuables safe. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Home Burglary Statistics

According to the FBI, an estimated 1.6 million burglaries occurred across the U.S. in 2015, 70 percent of which were residential. These burglaries resulted in a total property loss of about $3.6 billion. The most common items stolen included cash, laptops, iPads, smartphones, electronics, gold, and jewelry. These items are usually the targeted by thieves due largely to the fact that they can be easily removed from the home and exchanged for cash. In roughly three out of four home burglaries, the homeowners are not present. According to the same U.S. Department of Justice report, more home burglaries occur in the summer than in any other season, due to the fact that the weather is more agreeable and residents spend more time away from their homes. The most common time frame for a burglary is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when most residents are at work or running errands.

Safeguards Against Home Burglary

Given these statistics, what can homeowners and residents do to keep their home and belongings safe? What steps should you take to protect your valuable possessions and irreplaceable belongings when away from home? Here are a few tips:
  • Pay attention to your surroundings. Stay alert to things out of the ordinary around your home and in your neighborhood.
  • Take precautions when inviting new workers into your home. Per the Department of Justice, over 65 percent of victimized homeowners knew the person who burglarized their home. Minimize the amount of time strangers or acquaintances are left alone in your personal space to deter them from “scoping out” your home.
  • Keep your valuables out of sight to minimize the chances of thieves targeting your home. An easy way to keep your special belongings secure is to store them in a trusted safe. That way, in the unfortunate case that your home is broken into, at least your most priceless possessions have a strong likelihood of remaining with you. Cracking a safe isn’t as easy as heist movies make it appear, so having a safe actually does keep valuables out of the hands of most burglars.

Add it Up

Maybe you feel like the cost of a safe just isn’t worth it. If so, make a list of your most valuable items, estimate the cost of replacing them, and then compare that to the price of a safe. Also consider the fact that some things hold personal value that makes them irreplaceable. When making this list, also remember that keeping legal documents with sensitive information, such as passports and social security cards, in a safe can help protect you from identity theft. As reported by the Department of Justice, over 17 million people in the U.S. were victims of identity theft in 2015. When you add up the tangible and intangible value of the things on that list, investing in a reputable, fireproof safe will seem like a smart choice. Stay alert, keep things locked up, and invest in extra protections to keep your belongings secure from home burglary. At Western Safe, we offer safes for all purposes to fit anyone’s needs. If we don’t have the right safe for you, we’ll find it and order it. Get in touch with us today to find the right solution for your home.
Tags: Home break-ins