What We Can Learn From Home Burglary Statistics in Australia

When taking a close look at the statistics, it appears that Australia has a severe break-in problem. In 2015, Australia had the 5th highest burglary rate compared to other developed countries around the world. In 2017 alone, around 225,000 cases of burglaries were recorded in Australia. The numbers suggest that the average Australian household is prone to burglary. 20.3% of Australian homes have experienced a break-in at some point and it’s likely that the numbers will increase if homeowners don’t take action immediately.

The Budget Direct Home Insurance conducted a survey wherein they observed how an average Australian protects their home against break-ins. Several factors were ascertained such as risk potential, home security, and burglar deterrents to determine which contributes the most to burglary and how break-ins can be prevented. Let’s take a look at the statistics for burglary in Australian homes for the year 2018.

Risk potential of break-ins

  • 35% of people said that they leave spare keys outside their homes.

The survey revealed that roughly 35% of homeowners hide a spare key outside of their property. Most of the usual hiding spots for a spare key are behind the door knocker, under the floor mat, and even under fake sprinklers. Leaving a key outside is generally a bad idea and is never a secure option if you don’t want any burglars from entering your home. You can do your best to hide your spare key, but the most scrupulous burgers will eventually find it.

Instead of putting your home at risk, you might be better off leaving the keys to a trusted neighbour. The burglar won’t have direct access to your home if he doesn’t find a spare key, making him think twice of breaking into your property

  • 7% of them said that they regularly allow mail carriers to leave packages outside their property.

Another major risk factor in potential break-ins is that 58.7% of homeowners allow couriers to leave parcels outside of their door. Burglars are observant of their target properties and if they see that a parcel isn’t picked up after a few hours, they will assume that no one is around. This also means that your packages are prone to getting snatched if you leave it outside. To protect your home and your parcels, it’s best to choose the signed delivery option and collect your packages from a post office near you. You can also have a trusted neighbour pick up the parcel for you so you don’t have to worry about it getting stolen.

Home security

  • The survey found out that 55% of homeowners have no security system installed inside their home.

More than half of the homeowners said that they don’t implement any security system at all. This means that the average Australian household has no protection whatsoever against burglary. A security system is an essential part of any modern home and should definitely be considered by all homeowners. Often times a security camera is all you need to deter burglars from entering your home. If a break-in happens, a recorded footage is vital for local police authorities in tracking down the culprit.

  • Around 42.2% of people surveyed believe that installing a security system inside their home is an unnecessary expense.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things discovered in the survey is that 42.2% of homeowners think that a security system is unwarranted, stating that their neighborhoods are safe and installing one is very expensive. While it is true that certain areas are prone to more break-ins, that doesn’t mean that your home is 100% safe. Skilled burglars are always exploring new neighbourhoods to target and if your home is not properly protected, you may be at risk of a potential break-in.

A security system is more of an investment than an actual expense. Investing in home security goes a long way in reducing the risk of burglary which could cost you more than installing a few working cameras that deter burglars.

Burglar deterrents

  • 7% of surveyed homeowners think that a fake security camera enough to deter burglars.

According to the survey, more than one-third of homeowners believe that installing a fake security camera will cause a burglar to think twice about entering their property. Experienced burglars are all too familiar with the dummy camera units and it’s unlikely that a fake security camera alone is enough to deter them from breaking into your home.

Fake security cameras don’t offer any sort of protection from your home aside from distracting burglars until they find out it’s a mock-up. You’re much better off installing a working security camera that will record footage in the event a break-in occurs.

  • 6 of people believe that a ‘beware of dog’ warning sign will scare away burglars from entering their property.

Almost half of the surveyed homeowners said that using a beware of dog warning sign would deter burglars from breaking into their home. But the reality is unless the burglar identifies that an actual guard dog is around the house, a simple warning sign won’t be enough of a deterrence. Having a guard dog on duty will more than likely throw off their plans of sneaking inside your home. The loud barking will alert homeowners that a stranger is nearby and thus scaring away the burglar.

Conclusion 

The statistics reveal that the average Australian household is vulnerable to break-ins. Many homeowners put their property at risk by leaving indications that no one is around. Lack of home security is another issue that most homeowners need to address in order to protect their home from break-ins. Lastly, implementing burglar deterrents should also be considered by homeowners to scare burglars away from your home.

The most important thing is to make sure that your home doesn’t look empty. Burglars are more likely to target properties that look vacant so they can swiftly perform their wrongdoing. Use the information found in the statistics to fortify your home security to reduce risk of burglary.