If you’re wondering whether burglars return to the same house, the answer is yes, or at least some of them do. Burglars are not shy to boast about how they target the same property more than once. So why do burglars return to the same house? Well, if the break in was easy and rewarding, it makes sense that they’d want to go back for another job further down the road. The reason they return to the scene of the crime at a later date is simple. It’s because few people report break-ins these days (five percent or less). Burglars also know that there are plenty of people who do little or know nothing about how to secure their property. It’s why there’s a break-in every 15 seconds in the United States.
Confessions of a Real Burglar
In this video, a former house burglar confesses all. He explains how victims make it so easy for people like him to break into their property and take whatever they can carry away with them. It’s going to alarm some of you, and that’s good because it will probably prompt you to take positive action.
There are six main reasons why the person who broke into your home may decide to return at a later date. This is according to a professor of Criminal Justice, Larry Siegel.[1]
Six reasons burglars return to the same house include:
- They’re already familiar with the layout of your property
- They know you will replace the costly essential items they stole previously
- They know the entrance and exit routes
- They understand your weaknesses in security
- Burglars return for valuables they weren’t able to carry on the first job
- The next break in is less effort because of all the above
Action after the Break In
A common mistake people make is to think that once they’ve experienced a burglary, there’s little chance of it ever happening again. This is so not true. You hope it never happens again, but there are no guarantees. I personally know of three couples who have had their homes burgled more than once. One close friend of mine has been the victim of four burglaries at two different homes.
In almost every case I know of, people said they could have had better burglary prevention measures than what they did. The sad thing about this is that not everyone does something about improving their home security post break in. They’re always going to, but they never quite get around to it, perhaps for the reason mentioned above. And some who do make a start never follow through with their new security plans.
It’s not surprising to learn that nine out of ten new burglar alarms are purchased after a break in. What is surprising, however, is that almost half of those new alarms are never turned on.[2]
You may not be able to prevent a burglar from returning to your home for a second time, but you can certainly do a better job at preventing them from accessing your property on their next visit.