subject: House Security - What Would Yon Do If You Heard An Intruder? [print this page] Why do we feel so vulnerable about crime? The fear of having our home invaded and possessions stolen is so horrid.
So how worried should we be? Let's be sensible. We can't afford to be complacent, but mustn't be paranoid, bolting ourselves into the fortress at dusk. For a start, almost half of burglaries happen in daylight - makes sense, burglars know folk come and go during the day, so they blend in. 73% of burglars get in through a door - 3% of doors are open! Another shocker-stat is 56% of burglaries happen when someone's indoors! What! They don't want to meet you though - most burglars want to come and go quietly. But occasionally they meet a Yeti, like this one:
Woken by noise, seeing a light on downstairs, our Yeti leapt out of bed, grabbed a hammer - from some DIY plumbing - and raced downstairs... A startled young man was rooted to the spot at the foot of the stairs, terrified at the sight and sound of the angry householder charging down! The intruder fled at lightning speed... Afterwards our Yeti, for this story is true, stopped to think about what had happened, and realised the danger he'd been in. His reaction had surprised him, had made him vulnerable. Luckily the sight of an angry, hairy, six footer hurtling down the stairs, wielding a hammer, had scared off the opportunist, must have thought he'd broken in to the home of a Yeti! Our friend was pretty shaken up though.
People's reactions to finding a burglar in their home cannot be known until it's happened. Best not to find out. Most burglaries are opportunist, make their work difficult, they'll look elsewhere. But first, know your enemy:
- Don't offer burglars a fast turnaround, they'll take it!
- Do deter them - signs of security will turn them away.
- Prevent burglars getting in! Most are male, you don't want to meet indoors.
- Protect your things - most stolen items are not returned.
- Be aware who's around - only half of burglars are strangers to your area.
- Most burglaries occur in the evening, 20% are seen but overlooked as people moving house.
- No possession is worth a life. Yeti was lucky! If you disturb a burglar, let them run!
And protect your home with simple measures:
Fit double locks and deadlocks on outside doors.
Never leave keys inside a locked door.
Fit window locks on all opening windows.
Fit an alarm.
Keep valuables out of sight.
Draw curtains at dusk - burglars window shop then.
Leave lights on with curtains drawn when you're out, but not the hall light.
If you're away for a while put lamps on timers and cancel deliveries.
Then the scary numbers will be irrelevant and the opportunists will pass you by.
