Poll reveals burglars’ ideal targets

Recent research by Halifax Home Insurance has found that criminals tend to look for middle class semi-detached properties as the perfect target to steal from.

The poll, which took in views from burglars who were on remand, revealed that homeowners in these areas are most at risk.

The burglars generally steered clear of properties that were too expensive (more than 258,000) as they expected home security measures to be in place. This is also because these larger properties usually have more rooms, which make finding valuables fast much more difficult.

The findings also showed that burglars considered homes with posh motors on the drive to be more of a challenge too, expecting them to have high quality locks and security alarms.

The senior claims manager at the insurer, Martyn Foulds, said:

“It’s clear from our report that burglars take a lot of factors into consideration when choosing a home to break into and deciding what to steal. Hopefully this study will make people more aware of the easy things they can do to keep their homes safe.

“There are many ways homeowners can help protect themselves such as keeping ‘desirable’ items out of sight from the front windows, and understanding that even within the home, sensitive items should be kept in a safe and discreet location.”