Burglars like the one in the photo to the right are a rarity these days, nearly extinct. Learn why today’s burglars work very differently…
If anyone calls you paranoid for keeping your doors locked at all hours of the day, send them a link to the video below. It’s definitely an eye-opening look at how today’s criminals select their targets.
Oftentimes in the context of self-defense, we talk about taking steps to make sure you’re not the “easy target,” in a given situation. It’s the concept of appearing slightly more alert, capable, and intimidating than those around you, because muggers are mostly cowards. They simply want to select the target with the lowest probability of resisting or fighting back.
The same concept works for your HOME and your CAR.
You don’t need to draw extra attention to your home with signage or security camera, just keep the lights on and your doors locked.
You don’t need a fancy aftermarket security system in your car. Just store any valuables out of sight and lock your doors. Why?
Because it severely decreases your chances of getting burglarized. Statistically speaking, the simple precaution of locking your doors while you’re taking a shower, working in the garage, or gardening in the backyard, means your home will be passed over by burglars…
Here’s why: Today, the standard operating procedure for burglars is to literally walk by and test all doors to see if they’re locked. If a door is unlocked, it’s an open invitation to slip inside and grab whatever valuables they can find. Most burglars are opportunists.
The vast majority of burglaries take only a few minutes, if even that long. They’re not the elaborate heists that you’ve seen in the movies. These are crimes of opportunity, and you’ve created the opportunity by leaving the door unlocked.
According to police officer Greg Ellifritz, this trend is growing like crazy:
"I’ve kept track of reports of the thefts from cars in the city where I work (an upper-class suburb with around 35,000 residents) for the last 30 days. While I earlier referred to them as “car break-ins” that is truly a mischaracterization." Here’s how the numbers work out:
Number of vehicles entered- 24
Unlocked vehicles- 20
Locked vehicles- 3
Unknown or unreported status- 1
More than 83% of the vehicles with items stolen were unlocked! In only three cases did thieves actually break a window to steal something. In each of those cases, the item(s) stolen were expensive and clearly within view from the outside of the vehicle. You can safely assume that if there is nothing visible to steal in your car, thieves won’t break windows just to check. On the other hand, if you leave your doors unlocked, thieves will open the door and see what they can find. As the title of the article says: Lock your damn doors! If you don’t want your crap stolen, keep your doors locked and valuables out of sight.
That’s about the best explanation you can get, straight from a veteran officer who sees this on a daily basis. Home burglaries work almost exactly the same way:
"We had at least four burglaries last month where thieves entered through an unlocked door. The standard M.O. for these burglars is to find a house that appears unoccupied. They’ll knock on the door and if no one answers, they will walk around the house looking for an unlocked entrance. If they find a door unlocked, they go inside.
"The thieves go straight to the master bedroom and steal jewelry and all the small electronics they can gather on the way. They are in and out of the house in only a few minutes."
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL HOME SECURITY MEASURE?
Poster Comment:
Lock your doors to keep out the thugs, thieves and ne'er-do-wells.