From past FBI reports, just under 20% of all property crimes are burglaries. Burglars are typically interested in anything with a high value that’s easy to transport. TV’s are typically fairly high value items that are very close to an exit, so they’re a prime target. For the burglars looking for something a little more valuable, they typically go for jewelry.
It’s important to keep your house safe altogether, but also knowing a bit of what a burglar would be looking for is helpful. Let’s take a look at some options for keeping your jewelry and your home safe:
Lockboxes and Safes
If you’re not a master locksmith, getting into a safe is a real pain. You have to have access to heavy duty metal cutting equipment or be extremely proficient with a lockpick (a safe would require other tools in combination as well). If you have real gemstones: rubies, sapphires and, especially, diamonds, then keep them in a lockbox or a safe if at all possible. The downside of these is that the burglars might just take the safe and then work on opening it later.
Clever Hiding Spots
When people are looking for jewelry, they typically look at night stands and bathrooms. If that fails, they’ll go to the closet. If you can, put your jewelry in an atypical place. In the rare case that your home is broken into, the burglars will not want to stay long. If they check a few key areas and don’t find anything then they’ll likely just leave. Of course, a safe is a much better alternative but they’re inconvenient and heavy.
Don’t Even Trust Professionals
A huge portion of burglars, believe it or not, are people who work on houses. Repairmen, plumbers, landscapers and especially homebuilders. I’ve heard countless stories of people building a house with a security system and moving the TV in early, only for it to get stolen. I’ve heard other stories of repairmen accessing a house with no one home and then items disappearing. Of course they’ll just deny it if they know you don’t have video evidence, but you can avoid all of this by always being present during any kind of housework. If they’re working inside your house then check up on them every so often.
Obviously, we always recommend security systems and insurance. Those keep you covered in the very worst case scenarios.