Getting burglarized

A recent story in the Record got me thinking about crime – break-ins (or burglary to be more exact). The story – Students leave without locking their doors, and their stuff gets stolen – states that nearly 9000 burglaries have been mapped in Waterloo Region over the past five years and four of the hot spots are near our university campuses. According to the story, “students are targeted because they live closely together, have portable stuff to steal, often leave doors unlocked, and are often away on weekends and holidays.”

The story goes on to offer advice, which is good. But what about the rest of us?

What type of home is most likely to be burglarized?

Statistics out of the Bureau of Justice (USA) tell us that renters are much more likely to become victims of burglary than homeowners. “This is probably because plenty of people come and go out of apartment complexes daily, while homes only have a few family members who enter or leave.” The burglary rate for rental homes is 3.27% where as it is 1.83% for owned homes.

Smaller apartment complexes have the highest rate

Interestingly, smaller apartment complexes have higher burglary rates than single-family homes, but buildings with ten or more units have lower burglary rates. Here is the breakdown:

28.7% – buildings with 2-4 units
25.1% – buildings with 5-9 units
22.1% – single family homes
19.7% – buildings with ten or more units

Surprising facts about burglaries

Most burglaries take place during the day. Most take place between 10am and 3pm.
More homes are burglarized during warm summer months than in colder weather.
A typical burglary lasts ten minutes.
The average dollar loss per of a burglary is $2,316.00.
Police solve 13.6% of burglaries.
The typical burglar lives within 2 miles of the victim and may even know the victim.