A Guide to Protecting Your Home, Business and Your Person From Assault, Burglary, Fire and Fraud

Just what is burglary as opposed to robbery? Burglary is a word that is usually misused or confused by the news media. It is the forcible entering of a home or business with intent to commit a crime such as larceny. The time of day and the value of what you steal, or if you commit rape, arson, etc., those facts constitute the degree of the crime. Robbery on the other hand is the forcible taking of property from a person, such as a mugging, purse snatching or using a weapon to rob a liquor or jewelry store.

According to the latest available “2002 FBI Crime Report”, there were over 2,150,000 burglaries in the U.S. that year, an increase of 1.7 per cent from the prior year. A burglary occurs somewhere every minute and victims suffer annual losses of $3.3 billion. The majority of the burglaries committed was residential, and committed during the day time. Seventy per cent of those arrested for the crime were adults and 86 per cent were males and over 70 per cent were white. Burglaries are usually committed in unoccupied (at the time), homes.

The U.S. Justice Department in a recent study stated that 83% of the population will likely be a victim of a bodily assault of some type in their lifetime. They also revealed that 99% of the population will be victims of property crime in their lifetimes.

A translation for all of the foregoing, you should be suspicious of anyone around your or your neighbor’s home, at any hour of the day, regardless of the suspect’s age, sex or race. For example, bold burglars have been known to drive up in a moving van to homes in affluent, transient neighborhoods and remove all of the contents of the home while neighbors watched. The neighbors seldom know each other and aren’t aware if they are moving or not. If the neighbors call the police the movers (burglars), are ready with a convincing story having obtained as much data on the victims as they could from the phone book and city directory.

Burglars will steal cash, jewelry, VCRs, television sets, liquor, valuable collectibles. Basically anything that is not nailed down as long as they can sell it to a fence (buyer of stolen property), or use it themselves. They operate in the city, country, and suburbs, and they will go anywhere where they have available transportation.

Home invasions are a relatively new crime usually directed at drug dealers. However, drug dealers are not the only victims. Elderly people have been attacked while in their garage with the door open. The thieves ring a doorbell or knock and if no one answers, they kick the door in, assault the residents and steal anything of value. Statistics demonstrate that if you live within three blocks of a major intersection, live in a cul-de sac, or live adjacent to a wooded area, you could become a victim. Why in those locations? It is easier for the thieves to escape.