Burglary Facts & Statistics

Burglary Facts & Statistics

Awareness is KEY to safety when it comes to knowing how to protect your home from becoming a victim to a burglary. Put yourself into the shoes of a burglar: it might help you find ways to outsmart them and stop them in their tracks!

The following are a few surprising facts and statistics for burglaries in the United States:

- According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a burglary is committed about every 15 seconds.

The average loss of a typical break in is around $2,000; this does not include the cost of property damages or psychological damages. Home intrusions leave property owners feeling angry, fearful, and invaded.
Most people think that burglars tend to strike during the night. In fact, the most common time a burglary happens is between 10am and 3pm. During these hours, people are usually away at work or running errands. Intruders keep this in mind while planning a burglary.
The burglar’s favorite entry point into a residential property is the front door. Their next choice is the first floor window, and then the back door.
The average time a burglar spends inside a home is 10-12 minutes – which is more than enough time for them to grab a large amount of valuables and exit before being noticed.
The room a burglar most commonly approaches first upon break-in is the master bedroom. The master bedroom tends to be a hot-spot for an intruder because it’s where people store most of their valuables such as jewelry, cash and safes. The common burglar’s next favorite spots are the home office, living room and then dining room.
The most commonly stolen items during a burglary are (but not limited to): cash, jewelry, electronics, gold, silver, and guns – especially since most of these items are easy to sell at a pawn shop.
Burglars avoid homes with security systems: about 60% of convicted burglars admitted the presence of a security system changed their decision to break into the home.

Stay tuned… now that we have presented a few important facts and statistics about the common burglary, we will present ways to outsmart them in our next week’s blog!

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Edward Michel

Co-President at Valley Alarm

Licensed by the state of California, Valley Alarm provides design, consultation, installation, maintenance and central station services for commercial, residential and government clients of all types.