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Burglars Don’t Just Break In—They Calculate!!

Most burglars say the same thing.

That is – what their eyes are telling them!

Within a matter of seconds, what they see, led stem to explore your property or just walk straight on in.

When a burglar is looking for place to burgle, they could be cycling, walking, jogging or driving past and something will indicate to them within a matter of seconds that that looks like a possible target.

Possibly within 5 seconds, this will work!

What will put them straight off is a dog warning sign, a camera, or a camera sign, floodlights, an alarm box even if it’s dummy.

Many burglars know a dog sign or the alarm box might be fake or acts as a deterrent. In most cases, it will actually act as a deterrent because the burglar hasn’t got the interest or the time to be faffing about testing to see if it’s in their favour or not when they could be on their way to or more accessible property and this is where your psychology comes in.

Deterrents work.

When most people think of a burglary, they often imagine a masked figure lurking in the trees, holding a knife or a crowbar and running off with some sort expensive electronic item like your TV or PC.

Most burglars are cold, calculated and disturbingly practical. In their mind simplicity is the key and they’re looking for your vulnerabilities of your ignorance to exploit.

Having good luck and floodlights is not enough. You really need to understand why burglars choose certain houses and how they think. Even if they have no psychology or educational background, they instinctively know the basics of psychology and human behaviour and human emotion and just by a position or placement of certain things in or around your property reveals a lot about you and gives them the feedback they need to make a decision to rob you.

Their decision to burglar your house can take place in a few seconds, minutes, hours or days depending on the reward your house gives them.

Their decision to rob your house is rooted in risk assessment motivational end reward or success and human behaviour.

The Psychology of a Burglar

Not all house burglars are the same, but most do share common psychological traits and in particular motivation. Research from criminal psychology and law enforcement studies reveal several reoccurring patterns amongst house burglars.

Types of burglars

Opportunistic also called amateur are often younger and less experienced and certainly more impulsive and more male than female and I wonder why that is?

They act often impulsively if they see an open window or an unlocked door and are more often than not driven by the excitement or high of that instant moment, the impulse there and then to just take that risky opportunity as opposed to protecting or guarding against their own consequences, such as to be challenged or confronted by a homeowner or even the police. This level or group of burglar makes up a very high surprising percentage of most home burglaries.

Professional also called targeted burglars.

These burglars often plan in detail meticulously often surveillance on homes for hours days or weeks and becoming intimate with the patterns of the comings and goings of the home owners. They are often methodical and skilled and even specialised in high value targets and pride themselves on their own skills, vigilance and attention to detail planning for your costly goods.

Addiction driven burglars

In this group there are many, and these break-ins are committed by individuals under this title who are addicted to serious drugs and need quick cash to feed their daily habit and this need makes them horrendously reckless and desperate to say the least in how they hit your home.

Common traits

Burglars are risk analysts and often weigh the likelihood of getting caught against the potential reward of loot and on some level and they already accept the capture or imprisonment as a sort of self-appeasing, oh well I nearly got away with it or I could have got away with it but it was worth it because I could have got away with it type of dim mindset.

Pattern seekers

These types of burglars observe homeowners’ routines, bin collection day, school runs when and what time the lights go off each night, when milk bottles go out including how long packages are outside the front door all day long.

Emotionally disconnected

Most burglars view their actions or their burglary has not personal and they know it causes distress and pain and they know it could cause trauma in some people. Either they don’t care or they just haven’t got the interest or time to pay attention to it and become emotionally disconnected. Your family photos mean nothing to them only the jewellery, computer or that iPad counts.

Minimal time preference

Most burglaries lasts less than 10 minutes and often are done within three to five minutes especially if it’s being planned and they know what they’re looking for. Speed equals their safety, So their safety is high and anything they can do to keep that in mind they’ll do anything they have to, to escape or avoid prison.

What burglars look for in a house

Burglars are not psychic but they are incredibly observant, like magpies they see what they want, they see what they need and they get what they want. They scan neighbourhoods and homes for a specific set of cues.

What draws the burglar in?

Houses with high fences, thick trees or hedges or poor lighting which makes perfect hiding places even when there’s cameras.

Easy access: Unlocked doors or windows, garages without cameras or dodgy looking weak flimsy doors that can be easily pulled, wedged or levered open can be a welcome map to them.

Signs of vacancy: Overflowing letter boxes, packages, milk bottles on the doorstep, lights on all day, same car parked in the same place for days on end, screams nobody’s at home.

Valuable temptations on display: If a person can see a laptop, a large television screen, a jewellery box from a passing window then so can a burglar, therefore you have essentially written an invitation note and stuck it on your window.

What burglars pay attention to

Security systems: Be aware fake cameras or dog signs don’t often fool a professional burglar. So, if you are going to use a fake camera make sure it’s a real one or a real looking one and that includes dog signs.

Routine: Consistent comings and goings make it easy to predict when a house is empty.

Neighbourhood watch: A tight knit community is a good deterrent especially if there’s signs up round and about that says neighbourhood watch scheme in this vicinity.

What the burglar sees

Let’s go for a walk with the burglar. Here’s what the burglar is thinking during a casual walk past through your neighbourhood, past your home.

That house has a second storey window open during the day; I’ve seen that quite a lot and there’s never a car in the driveway at the same time.

No cameras inside and the curtains are pulled open and I can just see a TV peeking out and no one has picked up their amazon box since yesterday morning. Bingo!

One thing on its own is one thing on its own, two things look promising but three things just like that indicates no one is at home and that is enough to make a decision to rob you now.

At this point the burglar may have a pre-rehearsed script and will walk up to your front door and knock it or press the bell and stay there for quite a while knocking and knocking and may even walk over to your living room window and knock on that as well, Bang, Bang, bang no answer and have a reason just in case if you answer – like ‘I have just lost my dog have you seen it’ etc.

And all this took three minutes. Your house is about to get burgled. In most cases they’re not looking for confrontation, they want a quiet, empty in and out access and escape without any bother and the smoother it is for them the more proud, self-accomplished and fulfilled they will feel.

Professional or even amateur burglars may even use door flyers to see if they’re removed or not later.

Knock the door ring the bell during the day to case the joint and listen for dogs or voices or television and radio sounds.

They may even monitor social media for vacation announcements or Geo tagged posts online, that’s posts on your social media from different locations indicating a holiday.

Psychology deterrents

Your home security doesn’t start with steel bars or wire mesh around your property, it starts with simple psychology and you don’t need to be a qualified psychologist to know this stuff.

There are simple things you can do to make or create a mental environment that screams in the mind of the burglar this is not worth the risk.

Uncertainty

Anything that disrupts the burglar’s predictability. Think of timers for lights that go on and off at different times, radios coming on and off playing out odd hours or unpredictable vehicle movements or rearranging of vehicles on the drive

Visibility

Motion sensor lights, trim shrubs, open and visual house fronts not buried in deep trees, low hedges all increase the perceived risk in the mind of the burglar.

Surveillance cues

Real cameras, a ring doorbell, legitimate stickers from legitimate security companies, legitimate alarm boxes mounted on the wall Even if they’re dummy you can still purchase them as legitimate looking with a flashing blue light.

Make your home seem psychologically stressful or risky to approach. Instal a warning guard dog sign, add crunchy noisy stones to walk on, pull up a sign saying burglars beware, cameras in action, neighbourhood watch signs stating all visitors are being monitored 24/7 by close circuit TV.

Smart lighting

Visible security.

Door reinforcements.

Window security film.

Community engagements.

The following are feedback tips from actual burglar interviews!

Most burglaries don’t take place at night; they take place in the daytime when you’re at work.

Most burglaries take place through unlocked windows.

Dogs can be befriended with food temptations.

Burglars have piercing vigilance and will stare straight into house windows to see if there’s any movements or TVs on.

Most homes are avoided with loud gravel driveways.

Most homes are avoided if there are cameras.

Most homes are avoided with dog signs.

Most homes are avoided with several cars on show.

Final tip

Turn your home into a no-go zone for burglars by implementing all of the above if possible and remember burglars target vulnerability before they target your home.

When you make your home unpredictable and difficult to read, visible, loud and mentally high risk, you become a mental or psychological fortress and the burglar moves on because they don’t want trouble. They just want goods and they want to get them in the most ninja like – in and out unseen way as possible.

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