Burglaries -

[Clinker]

Hello Everyone,

There has been a lot on here about burglaries and I didn't want to hyjack anyone's thread with my query so I started a new one. Those of you who have had the misfortune of having been burgled, I have this question for you. Please can you list the factors in your opinion (if there were any other than just bad luck) that may have led to you being burgled. For example:

1. Window left open

2. Ground floor flat.

3. Garden flat.

4. Shared Entrance.

etc.

I am just trying to gauge just what kind of scenarios burglers go for, or what are the more vulnerable property types and if there is a definite pattern.

The reason I am asking is because I am looking to getting on the property ladder some time in the next 6 months or so. I love the idea of a ground floor property because I am a cyclist & a garden is always a plus. Having said this, i feel very uncomfortable with the idea of being on the Ground Floor and paranoid about burglaries (or break-ins for different reasons) I am a lone female...

(Maybe i should lay off watching Crime Watch :-$)

Your answers/thoughts/advice much appreciated.

[BlueOne]

Hi Clinker

I am also a lone female and have always avoided ground floor flats for exactly the security worries that you mention, and yet, for the last 5 years I've been living in a semi-detached house and hardly even given a second thought to the fact that it is (partly) ground floor!

I'm not really sure why I would be scared in a ground floor flat but perfectly fine in a house with a window onto the street, but I guess the moral is, my house is really secure so I feel very safe. I now know I would feel equally safe in a ground floor flat.

However I do sleep with my (upstairs) bedroom window open which I wouldn't do in a ground floor flat, and I am pretty careful about not leaving the front window open if I am in the shower or back garden.

BlueOne

[DaveR]

Burglaries are largely opportunistic, so any point of easy access e.g. open window will attract attention. The issue with garden flats and blocks with communal entrances is that a burglar can gain entry to the premises whilst out of sight of the street, and in blocks of flats the street entrance is usually less secure than the street entrance to a house.

The single biggest deterrent to burglary is to have a proper deadlock on every external door, and it obviously helps to have doors which are chunky enough not to be easily smashed in, and double glazed windows. If you are in a block with a communal entrance encourage your landlord and fellow occupants to take security seriously - proper door, and don't let strangers in.

[Diescu]

I have lived in a mid-terrace ground floor flat (with shared entrance) for nine years now and my bedroom is in the front. It's wonderfully quiet most of the time and I've (touch wood) not been burgled yet. I can even sleep with my bay window partially open at the top at night with the aid of special locks that only allow it to be opened by a few inches. I really like having the garden as well even if there are only a few months in the year when it gets much use. I think I'd be a bit more wary of end of terrace ground floor flats as then burglars can get round the back too easily - even mid-terrace I'd want to be sure the fencing was high enough to discourage them from reaching my property. As DaveR says, though, whatever you go for, make sure you have proper doors/locks in place.