It is pretty difficult to visualise how you would feel, arriving home to your house that has been totally raided by burglars. What would be your immediate worry? What valuables have been stolen? The financial burden and the stress of damage repairs? Or does your sense of security feel violated because a criminal broke into your home?
The impact of burglary can be detrimental to one's mental health. You may have a sense of guilt, for not having more security, which according to studies, is a typical feeling. Or you may lose all faith and trust in society. You may also feel a sense of fear and never being able to feel secure in your own home, which according to research is a common feeling amongst 60% of victims. Not to mention, you could experience paranoia with the worry that you are being watched or followed. These feelings can have serious consequences on your mental health, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and even insomnia.
According to research, it takes on average, around eight months for victims of burglary to feel secure and safe again in their own homes and less than half of them feel completely safe. Some lose self-confidence, others hate to be left in the home on their own and some worry to ever leave the premises. According to an insurance survey, over 1 million UK residents move away after a burglar has broken into their home.
No one deserves to feel unsafe in their own home, which is why we recommend taking precautions to avoid this happening to your home.
As simple as it sounds, always make sure your windows and doors are closed and locked before leaving your home and at night. Additionally, ensure that all expensive or valuable items are out of sight and spread across different areas of your home.
Investing in a safe is also recommended, as if you do fall victim to a break in, keeping all of your valuables in a locked safe will prevent the burglars taking such items.
By ensuring there are no large amounts of cash lying around in your home you’ll prevent yourself from being the victim of a pocket burglar, but also gain a small win over them.
Ensure your property is secure from the outside. For instance, large hedges and secure fences, which avoids any easy access and removes the cover the burglars need to carry out the break in.
Additionally, install timers which switch lights or TV’s on automatically, as this will make it more tricky for the potential burglar to tell if the house is unoccupied.
Make sure you are looking out for your neighbours as well as yourself, by keeping your eyes peeled for any suspicious behaviour, as well as joining any local social media groups to pay attention to any reports of burglary or break ins in your area and if so, informing your neighbours.
Distraction burglary is when someone, in attempt to gain access to your home, tries to trick you into believing they are in need of help or are working in the area. Often they will operate in pairs, with one attempting to distract the victim, whilst the other uses the opportunity to steal items in their home.
Therefore, you should not let anyone into your home unless you are expecting them or know them personally. Even if you are expecting callers from a utility company or local authority, you can set a password when you make the arrangements that the caller has to give on arrival. Use a door chain if possible whilst you establish the caller is genuine.
If you haven’t already, make certain you have the correct home protection in place. At Delta Home Protection, we are home security experts who offer a range of high security protection services for your premises. From Selecta DNA, to Keyholding and Alarm Response, we have you covered, so you can sleep peacefully at night knowing your property is being protected, 24/7.
Not to mention, we have a free guide to home protection coming very soon. This will be a checklist for homeowners to find out how safe your house really is, and for you to know what precautions to take.
