Confessions of a Burglar, PART II

One of the best ways to out think the prospective burglar, who may well take up temporary residence in your home, is to put yourself in his shoes. The typical owner thinks like a homeowner, not like a burglar.

The "professional" burglar approaches his job like a science, like a career that must be learned over a period of time. Like a doctor or attorney, a smart burglar studies a given subject (namely home security methods) and devises a reaction to ultimately achieve his goal. It's a battle of wits, hardly an entertaining game, but a game that you must still win to protect your valuables. 

Consider the confessions of these burglars:

Michael (Released, March 9th, 2012):

"The biggest advantage that I have is a person's overconfidence. Everybody underestimates me, thinking they have nothing that valuable or that a big dog is going to scare me away. A dog may work on most people, but throw him a snack and like all other animals, he’s your friend for life! I broke into this guy’s house, the alarm bells was sounding, I was being very quick, I ransacked his house in 5 minutes flat, by the time the police got there I was ¾ mile away stuffing the guy’s stereo system in the back of my van, cops are so very slow in responding to a suspected burglary.”

Fact: In 2008, law enforcement agencies reported over 2,000,000 burglary offenses-a small increase over the previous year and a gigantic 14.1% increase since 1998. Even as home security technology has grown, more burglaries have been reported. Don't kid yourself-burglars have plenty to steal, if not family jewels then your debit card, credit card and computer appliances. Dated security measures such as beware of dog signs don't work-burglars may be lowlifes but they're not always stupid.

Steven (Paroled after 23 years flat, 18 August 2013):

"When I was a free man, I was always one step ahead of the smart guy and the police. They put up a sign broadcasting that they were with Brinks so I learned the Brinks system. The funniest thing is that most people go all out to defend themselves at night. They put alarms, video and the whole nine yards. I did my best work in broad daylight."

Fact: According to studies in reported incidents of American burglary, 65.8 percent of all robberies were of residential structures and a whopping 62.4 percent of residential burglaries took place during the day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Though most nonresidential structures were robbed at night, this does give more insight into the types of burglars homeowners are dealing with. As indicated by the burglar's statement, informing your opponent of which security system you use is like giving an off the record hint.

Roger (Paroled from DOC, 17 October 2005):
"I got away with the robbery. I broke in through the kitchen door and made it out. The home alarm was sounding but I was long gone by then. But, this guy was a psycho! He had his whole home under video surveillance.  And that’s what got me a 10 year stint in the slammer.”

Fact: Indeed, he did. As technology increases, leading security companies are only helping homeowners to prevent crime from taking place, but also to capture, identify and convict burglars. Two of the leading companies, ADT Security, and Brinks Home Security had to over 150,000 crimes in progress between 1990 and 2013. A large percentage of these cases went to court, and these companies were called upon by law enforcement to provide documentation, deposition, history of events and even video surveillance, to assist in the prosecution. The good news for you is that with increasing technology, and constantly improving live monitoring services, more burglars are being caught in the act and sentenced. Outsmart the burglars and make sure you have a safe and happy home.  The bad news is, while you may have the very best security system on the planet, if you don’t learn to protect your valuables, you will lose them, burglars love a challenge.

A tip - Avoid being a statistic. Install a monitored home security system in your home and keep it armed when you are away and while you are home at night.

-Birdy