Table of Contents
Research from Churchill shows victims have 28% chance of another break in and an 8% chance of multiple subsequent break ins
Nationally, 1 in 5 adults have experienced a burglary and here in Yorkshire the statistic is 1 in 4. Being the victim of a break in is traumatic enough but this research shows that 28% of those will fall victim again in the same property and 8% will experience more than 1 subsequent break ins. See the details here.
Despite this, 8% of burglary victims (1.3 million people) did not upgrade their security following the first break in and 16% spent less than £100.
So, why do burglars hit the same house again?
You may think that burglars would steer clear of the scene of their crime but there are some attractive reasons for hitting the same property again:
- Familiarity – they know the weaknesses and the layout of your property and can therefore be much more efficient on their second run
- They may have stolen spare house keys the first time around so have easy means to get back in
- If they have stolen car keys they will usually go back at a later date to take the car
- They would expect you to claim on your insurance and wait for you to replace the items stolen so that they can take them all over again
- They know the weaknesses in your security and that not many bother to improve these, even though they’ve already been victims once
- They may have spotted other items that they weren’t able to take/carry the first time and it’s too tempting not to go back and get them
Obviously, preventing a burglary in the first place is the ideal position, however many people do tend to only see the value of home security AFTER they’ve become victims to burglary (and some, not even then if this research is accurate). We would recommend anti-snap locks as a minimum and ideally, a burglar alarm. Of course, having these measures is no good unless you use them. This same research showed that 26% of the burglaries happened as a result of doors not being locked!
Whether you’re looking to take preventative measures or beef up security following an incident, we can help. Call us on 0345 833 5543, send us a message or call into our security shop in Wakefield.