Apart from typical home burglaries (break-in and attempted break-in), household crimes include motor vehicle theft, theft from a motor vehicle and malicious property damage. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, households are most likely to experience malicious property damage.

In 2014, the researchers from the Australian Institute of Criminology published a study designed to examine the methods and motivations of real burglars. They discovered that the most common deterrents against burglars are: a dog, a working alarm system, the lights inside the house, grilled windows/doors, an unknown area, the visibility of property from the road, sensor lights and gates. Being away on a holiday considerably increases the chances that your home is broken into.

Appearance of Occupancy

Lights, as one of the most effective deterrents, give your house the appearance of being occupied. You can programme the timer switches for both indoor and outdoor lighting to turn lights on and off at certain intervals. Some programmable timer switches allow you to enter your longitude and latitude coordinates so that the switch can turn on and off depending on the local sun up/sun down periods.

Social Media

The UK home security experts from Friedland carried out a survey, revealing the role of social media updates in residential burglary rates. The survey is based on the interviews of the offenders convicted of burglary in 2011. The results show that 78% of burglars use social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to target properties on one hand and that 54% of people post their whereabouts on social media on the other. Additionally, Google Street View is extensively utilized as burglars can see the photographs of individual houses.

Locks

The research by the Australian Institute of Criminology at the beginning of the article demonstrate that 66.2% of offenders enter the property through unlocked door and windows. Fortunately, “there is a variety of door locks on the market depending on your needs”, says a reputed locksmith operating in Bondi. “Some of the most common door locks you can consider to burglar-proof your door are: deadbolts, knob locks, mortise locks, cam locks, wall-mounted locks, etc.” Knowing that the gate can be a factor in the burglar’s decision to break-in, using a deadbolt for gates is also recommended.

Motion Sensors

Motion sensors work when you are not home, or when you tell the home security system you are not home. Some security systems offer the possibility of a security camera to record events when the motion sensor reacts. Passive motions sensors read changes in energy to detect intruders, while active motion sensors emit infrared light, sound waves, or microwave radiation to identify motion. You can also choose among wireless motion sensors (the most widely used), contact motion sensors installed on doors and windows and video motion sensors.

Window and Door Grills

There are four types of grills: aluminium, wrought iron, metal and iron grills. Aluminium grills are usually chosen for their high tensile strength. Wrought iron grills are the most popular option as they provide effective security and come in all designs and finishes. They are also rust-resistant. On the other hand, iron grills are prone to rust, but they are solid. Finally, metal grills are usually hand-forged, which improves the security of your house.

Combining all of these security measures when you are on a holiday will minimize the chances of burglary. As a dog turned out to be the best deterrent, maybe it is time to get a pet.