Home security systems serve two important purposes; they protect life, land and property, and they provide peace of mind for the people who live there, safe in the knowledge that burglars will have a harder time breaking in and getting away with it.
However, because home security can sometimes be a complex topic, many myths have emerged about burglar behaviour, what a security device actually does and how much the overall running cost for home security is.
Here are some of the most common myths debunked.
Strangers In The Night
There is a common belief that burglars are complete strangers that will only attempt to rob your house at night, exchanging glances at your property and taking advantage of an opportunity to rob your house.
It turns out, neither of these are necessarily always the case, with a significant amount of burglaries taking place during the day when homes are empty.
This is one of the reasons why, during national lockdowns, robbery rates decreased as a potential target house may not necessarily be empty.
As well as this, as with a lot of crimes, a significant proportion of burglaries are committed by people we know, from family members, friends, neighbours or contractors, primarily because they know better than most the most opportune time.
Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice
There is a prevailing belief that if a burglar robs a house, they will not rob it again. There is some morbid logic to this; if you already lost substantial valuables, there is less of an incentive to break in again.
However, if a robbery was particularly easy and safe, burglars may case a property a second time, with the intent to take their time and steal more valuable items.
Blueprints, Plans And Gadgets
There is the idea, possibly perpetuated by heist films, that burglars are geniuses that plan a robbery for a considerable amount of time, using gadgets and tools to break in, which in many cases the opposite is true.
Burglars are, more often than not, opportunists, and if they feel they can quickly get in and get out without being stopped, spotted or positively identified, that is enough for them to use simple tools to make an attempt to get in.