We’ve discussed in the past the things that you should do around the home to keep burglars out, outlining some of the things that they look for when selecting a victim but how do you think like a burglar? What are the things that you look for that make you chose one house 
over another or decide that one juicy prize just isn’t worth the risk?
Find Your Target
An experienced burglar will look for different signs and clues that you’re not home. They’ll look for signs that you’re away for a long time or just popped to the shops. However, if they think you’ve just nipped around the corner, that won’t put them off if the pickings are rich. They’ll think of an excuse to come to your front door or peer through windows, evaluating whether they should break in now or wait for a more opportune time.
Don’t Stand Out
Things burglars hate, beside the police and magistrates, include attention and inconvenience. They’d like to be able to walk into anyone’s home and take what they like undetected. They look for houses at the bottoms of cul de sacs, homes that have overgrown hedges, broken fences, homes that are poorly lit with things like ladders left lying around unsecured.
Find Your Way In
Finding a house with a window left open is as good to a burglar as a gilt edged invitation and a copy of the key attached. They say a mouse can get through a gap the width of a pencil and burglars are much the same. Even if you could never imagine squeezing through a gap, could your burglar use it to get an arm in or a tool in that could make a bigger gap? Or something with which to hook keys and valuable items? And instead of leaving a key under the mat or on a ledge, think about leaving it with a neighbour instead.
Watching and Waiting
If a house is just too valuable a score, it could be worth waiting for. If a burglar has to make a quick hit and run they won’t get all the good stuff, so they will have to come back, and that increases the chances of getting caught. (Although it’s incredibly common for a house to be broken into once or twice again after an initial break-in as the burglar knows your security and what you own at home.) If you have overgrown hedges then they have a place to hide and observe. If you have broken fences they can sit in a car and keep an eye on your property. Bushes and shrubbery around windows lets them have a good look around without being seen from the street.
Enjoy the Holidays
In summertime windows and doors are more likely to be left open, people are out and about, enjoying the fresh air and the sunshine or jetting off to Ibiza or the Costa del Sol for a few weeks in the sun. In the winter there might be fewer windows and doors left open, but the hours of darkness and foul weather means that there is much more time to lurk unobserved and fewer people are outdoors as houses are doubly stocked with all those brand new Christmas presents.
Get Your Victim to Invite You In
Perhaps the most heartless means of burgling people is distraction burglary. The hero of this story pretends to be a legitimate visitor, from the electricity or water company in order to get access, usually to the home of the elderly or infirm. One person will keep their attention while an accomplice will go from room to room taking cash and any valuables they can find. Always ask for ID and, if possible, phone their company to see if there is anyone scheduled to be carrying out work in your area. A genuine representative won’t mind and a phony will reveal themselves by attempting to make excuses.
Keep Your Eyes Open
You need to be aware of security lighting and surveillance cameras. Mounting a big CCTV camera above your door is a very visible deterrent but it’s clear where it is and which way it’s looking. A burglar might find a way of disabling it or getting outside of its field of view, but that doesn’t really matter because ideally you will have several web cams located at various locations where the entire property is visible and sending a live feed of activity to the internet, your monitoring system and alarm company. These web cams are cheap, tiny and can be disguised as anything or hidden anywhere so even the most imaginative burglar won’t be able to imagine where to find them all.
Preparation is Everything
While going out equipped to commit a crime is a crime in and of itself, many criminals, are opportunistic and will have several of the tools they need to effect a break-in available at all times. These are the guys who just grab what they can and then leave as soon as possible. Far more effective and rather more sinister is the burglar who has been checking out your property for weeks. They’ll have seen something that interests them and will monitor your movements, the size of your family and their habits so that they know the best time to break in and clear your house out. The only way you can beat them is to be security conscious every day. Always make sure your doors are locked, windows shut and your garden isn’t making it any easier for them to get in.
Go Hi-Tec
You can bet your life that there are communities online sharing and disseminating information about the latest innovations in security and their attempts to overcome them. As well as picking up tips and tricks, you’ll find that credit card fraud and identity theft are easy to do online. If you want to avoid being the victim of this invisible yet damaging crime don’t give things like holiday plans away on social, don’t give out too many relationship details or dates of birth either. All security questions that credit card companies and banks ask can conceivably be bypassed by anyone who knows that kind of information.
