We were all sound sleepers. None of us heard the smashing of the glass, the unlatching of the lock, nor the forcing up of the sash.
When someone broke into our home through the dining room window in the middle of a summer night in 1978, my family didn’t hear a thing.
Our dog, who routinely menaced anyone who got anywhere near the front door, was inexplicably silent when we experienced an actual intruder.
Before the burglar discovered the keys to our blue Toyota Corona, he consumed a half gallon of frozen yogurt from our fridge while reclined on the sofa in the living room.
In the course of the crime, no one was harmed.
The station wagon was recovered weeks later with a dent in the front and a dead deer in the back.
But after this bizarre break-in, the only precaution my father took to protect his home was to purchase a bigger baseball bat.
But, what are the chances of your house being robbed a second time?
Home Burglary Statistics And Facts
The following year our home was burglarized again; my dad subsequently sprang for a professional security system.
Around the time my father was looking to invest in his first home security system in the early 1980s, the chances of your house being robbed in the United States were at their highest levels since WWII.
The property crime rate was steadily rising in the country during the 60s and 70s, then receded in the 90s.
While there are many societal factors which contribute to the level of crime in a community, access to increasingly affordable home security systems played a role in reducing the number of burglaries in the United States in the past 25 years.
And while the most recent crime statistics show property crime rates at their lowest point in over 50 years, this data is not a reason to go without security for your home.
65% of residential burglaries happen during the day when the house is most likely to be empty
Despite the national trend, homeowners and apartment dwellers who may be thinking about a security system for their homes need to consider not only the crime rate in their particular neighborhood but how today’s networked home security systems provide more value than just triggering an alarm.
Though national statistics paint a broad picture of criminal activity in the country, what the crime rate is in your actual neighborhood is a much more helpful piece of data to determine the likelihood of a future break-in.
There are plenty of examples all around the nation where crime levels have increased in metropolitan areas but decreased at state levels.
There are several sites online that compile data from police departments across the nation to give users a comprehensive look at the activity in any zip code in the country.
And perhaps most helpful to prevent someone from illegally entering your property is what we know from convicted burglars about what will decrease the chances your house being robbed:
- Homes without security systems are three times more likely to be robbed. When thieves are “casing” a home, if they identify that a house has a security system installed by seeing video surveillance cameras mounted on the home or security placards and stickers around the home’s perimeter, nine out of ten burglars will move on to find a home that does not have a security system. And with only 14% of homes with security systems installed in the entire country, there will likely be an unguarded home nearby.
- Suburban homes 50% more likely to be burglarized. Because they are located in lower traffic areas and have greater accessibility to all sides of the house, single-family homes located out of the city center are more likely to be targeted for burglary. Thieves can more easily identify the point where they could break in when they can walk around a home and may also have more places to hide outside, as well. Single-family homes in the suburbs have to be more vigilant about decreasing the chances of their homes being robbed than homes in the city.
- Daytime hours are the most popular time for burglary. While most people picture a robbery happening at night when everyone is asleep, the reality is that 65% of residential burglaries happen during the day when the house is most likely to be empty. Thieves overwhelmingly prefer to hit residential targets when the house is empty during the day, then risk a run-in with the homeowner in the middle of the night.
- One-third of robberies occur through “unlawful entry.” The law differentiates between “unlawful entry” and “forcible entry.” 33% of home burglaries are “unlawful entry,” suggesting that the burglar entered the home through an unlocked door or open window.
While there are positive trends in both the state and national levels with property crime rates declining in the United States, these statistics do not paint the whole picture of whether home security is a good investment.
Today’s home security systems do more than decrease the chances of your home getting robbed: these systems are now a part of comprehensive, smart home setup.
In addition to monitoring your front door and windows for break-ins, today’s systems give the consumer the ability to remotely monitor live video, switch lights on or off, thermostats, see who’s at the front door, and even control door locks -- all from a mobile device.
When one considers how affordable, accessible, and easy-to-use today’s home security systems are, it’s a far cry from the limited and expensive choices that were available to consumers thirty years ago.
Leveraging today’s technology to keep your property and your loved ones safe will not only be a smart investment but the most valuable part of the whole smart-home solution.