Burglars Explain how they Broke into Homes

Home security is a top concern. It is today and it sure is after a socioeconomic breakdown. Maybe one of the weakest point I see on nearly all American preppers is home security. Having guns means you have means of self-defense, it doesn’t mean that your house is more of a hard target.
This article from 12News is well worth the time it takes to read it and has some good first-hand information about how burglars operate.

Here are the top five lessons:
1)Burglars will look for jewellery, electronics, cash, credit cards and guns. One burglar said that NRA stickers means there’s guns to be stolen.
Not mentioned in the article but I know this to be true, many criminals also look for drugs, legal or otherwise, either for personal consumption or for selling.

2)All burglars CHECK IF YOU ARE HOME. They knock on your door and if someone answers they ask for directions, pretend to be lost or to be looking for someone else. Some even pretend to be doing surveys.

3)They prefer breaking in early morning or afternoon when people are working and kids are in school. Most of them access through UNLOCKED windows and doors. Some kicking down the door if locked.

4)The ideal house to break in? They looked for homes with big fences and overgrown trees or bushes. “Homes AWAY FROM OTHER HOMES, blind spots, older window frames, cheap wooden doors,” wrote a burglar. “Large trees, bushes or shrubs around the home, or very reserved and conservative neighbours,” wrote another inmate.
“Nice home with nice car = A person with money,” another said.

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5)How to make your home a hard target? Keeps doors and windows locked. Large dogs are one of your best deterrents. Smaller ones don’t seem to do the trick nearly as well. Install an alarm, most intruders said they would leave immediately if a security alarm went off.
Most burglars consider a car parked on the driveway to be a sure-fire sign of someone being home. TV or radio noise also made them think twice about breaking in.
“Put bars on your windows and doors, get an alarm, keep an extra car in the driveway, keep lights, TVs and radios on when you leave your home,” read one questionnaire.
“Home alarm, know your neighbour so they can report suspicious people around the neighbourhood,” said a burglar.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.