When considering burglary, the first thing to consider will be what types of people commit burglary and although most people consider they are people who enter your property to steal. Section 9 of the Theft Act 1968 tells us that those intending to commit serious assault or criminal damage also commit burglary and the offence of burglary has the effective aggravating this offence to reflect the abhorrence of someone entering your property to commit these acts. (There is also an aggravated form of burglary when someone takes with them a firearm or weapon)
Some of my colleagues in the security industry have sought classify those who commit burglary [i],[ii]
The Opportunist
In my experience in the police this type of offender is the most common The opportunist is a burglar who does not plan ahead. Their crimes are spontaneous but often triggered by easy pickings and are often most easy to protect yourself against.
This thief will look for quick and easy prospects. They might be strolling along and come across an empty home with an open window. and take advantage of being in the right place at the right time
Opportunists are often unpredictable and will steal whatever goods they can find in a specific area of opportunity. They do not seek specialty items or know what they’ll be getting before acting, which is why they often do not steal high-value items.
How to protect yourself against the opportunist burglar
· · Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you’re only going out for a few minutes
· Double-lock any door
· Make sure that any valuables are out of sight
· Keep handbags away from the letterbox or cat flap and hide all keys including car keys,
· Never leave car documents or ID in obvious places such as kitchens or hallways
· If you’re out all day, then it’s advisable to use a timer device to automatically turn lights and a radio on at night
· Set your burglar alarm every time you leave
· Make sure the side gate is locked and lock your shed or garage
· lock your bike inside a secure shed or garage, to a robust fitting bolted to the ground or wall, like a ground anchor
· Install a burglar alarm which as an external siren or bell which notifies those closest to you
The Scout
Scout burglars are one step above an opportunist as they premeditate targets instead of waiting for the opportunity to arise. They are not afraid to smash a window or kick down a door to access a home or apartment. They will take whatever they can get their hands on that is easily concealable in pockets or a backpack. These thieves are messy and unorganized, often driven to steal due to a drug habit.
How to protect yourself from the ‘Scout’
In addition to the practical situational crime prevention above the premeditated burglar will often be looking for types of properties which suit their particular modus operandi. They are deterred by well secured properties so making sure that you have modern locks and doors as well as ensuring that areas of your property are well lit and do not attract people to loiter are particularly effective. The Secure By Design web site gives useful information on this [iii]
The Prowler
Prowlers are more organized than scouts. Prowlers plan their burglaries thoroughly before committing one. They have connections to channel their stolen goods through and often study their victims thoroughly before attacking a home. They will memorize a family’s habits, like watching when you come and go.
The Professional
This type of burglar is probably the most seasoned and successful. After years of burglarising homes and businesses, professionals will decide to target specific high-value items. They know what they want, and they know how to respond to a burglary deterrent. They are able to accurately predict the response time of the police in a given situation and may even create diversionary incidents elsewhere.
Professional burglars do extensive research on security systems and security techniques. They do not associate with opportunist thieves and prowlers. Instead, professional burglars often operate as a group and can make a career out of it. Sometimes they manage to have someone on “the inside” to scope out potential targets.
Professional burglars will more often focus on businesses and warehouses instead of small homes and apartments.
How to protect yourself from The Prowler and The Professional
These type of offenders will often case your premises and have a good idea of what they are looking for. As such they may well have visited your premises beforehand often on an innocent pretext. CCTV is a useful tool for the police to catch these types of offenders and the fact that they will often visit the premises beforehand will be their downfall
There are plenty of DIY systems around. However, there are plenty of pit falls when installing such as ill placed cameras which record well at certain times of the day but not at others and having exposed wiring which is easily disabled. In addition the cheaper DIY systems often have sensors which switch to black and white more frequently.
A properly installed system should have at least two weeks’ worth of recording and should only notify you remotely when something happens. Cheaper systems only record when there is movement and do not filter out erroneous incidents such as animals or moving vegetation.
A professionally installed burglar alarm which both audible alerts and remote monitoring provides reassurance. The highest grade of alarms link directly to the police. However these can prove expensive as the police place stipulations to prevent false activations and self-monitoring by App can be just as effective.
[i] https://www.thelondonlocksmiths.co.uk/burglary-repairs/5-most-common-types-of-burglary/
[ii] https://brinkshome.com/smartcenter/what-are-the-different-types-of-burglars
[iii] https://www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/crime-prevention-advice
For a No obligation Security Survey Please Contact Mike at Secure Home Electrics Ltd 01480 891 182 or Enqs@secure-home-electrics.co.uk
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