By Fiona McElligot
Now that the clocks have gone back, evenings are darker and that creates ideal opportunities for thieves. November is consistently the worst month for the crime with burglaries spiking 46% higher in November then the average rate for the rest of the year. In the Winter months generally burglary is 36% more prevalent than in Summer.
Even though, you may think your house will be more vulnerable in the middle of the night or in the day when you’re out at work, but in fact over 50% of home burglaries in Ireland happen in the evening between 5pm and 11pm, when you’re likely to be home. Ultimately burglary is an opportunistic crime, and by making your home appear less attractive to burglars you dramatically increase the security of your home.
By remembering these simple steps you can avoid becoming the latest victim of a winter burglary:
. Lock doors and windows whether you are in the house or not. Over a quarter of all burglars gain access through the front door.
- Alarm your homenot just when you’re leaving but at night and especially before going to bed. You are three times more likely to be the victim of a burglary if you don’t have a monitored burglar alarm.
- Light up:The most common time for a burglary is between 5pm and 11pm. During this time you should make sure your home is well lit. Use timed switches if you are not going to be at home.
- Don’t Advertise:Keep valuable possessions away from the windows and keep curtains and blinds closed to make sure a burglar isn’t drawn to your home
Doors and Windows should also be locked even when you’re in, as thieves are opportunists, and it only takes them a few seconds to enter a property and steal items. The most common items stolen are jewelry, cash and televisions.
PhoneWatch customers are three times safer than national average. PhoneWatch also released statistics on the most common entry points for burglars. These show that the front of homes are more vulnerable to penetration than in previous years, a trend that shown a continual increase in recent years:
- Front Door: 25% (up from 15% in 2010)
- Front Window: 11%
- Back Doors & Windows: 37%
- Side Doors & Windows 8.4%
- Skylights: 2.6%
