Burglary In Australia: What You Need To Know
Burglary or robbing one’s home is not an uncommon offense.
Well, to give you just a closer depth to it, burglary refers to an offensive act of forcefully entering one’s home or property to steal belongings that may be worth not hundreds but thousands of dollars.
These offensive acts are usually done by trespassers or thieves who intend to take belongings without the original owner’s personal consent, with the intent to steal and take away items for their benefit.
Statistics have shown us that from years 2018 and 2019, at least 2.4% of all homeowners in Australia have experienced break-ins.
Out of all cases, only 77% of the total cases being reported to authorities.
Out of all these total home robberies, 73% of the cases had items stolen, while 49% experienced damaged properties.
Within the years 2018 and 2019, at least 1.9% of all Australian homes have tried experiencing at least one break-in. Out of all these cases, only 44% of all houses were able to report to the authorities.
24% of the cases did not bother to bring up the robbery incident to the police due to considering the event to be too trivial or unimportant.
18% of the total cases, on the other hand, chose not to bother to bring the incident up to the police stating that there was nothing the authorities could have done to bring back the stolen items.
47% of these total cases reported that their doors and windows had been tampered with during the robbery. In comparison, 21% of the Australian households said that they had sensed (through seeing or hearing) offenders trying to break into their property.
Point Summary:
- Back in years 2018-2019, a total of 231,000 households have been robbed in Australia, making it an estimated of 2.4% of the entire Australian households
- At least 20.3% of all Australian houses have been robbed
- It takes less than 5 minutes (or at least 300 seconds) for robbers to break into a private property/home
Australia Statistics Vs. Global Statistics
Statistics have shown that back in 2015, Australia has been considered the top 5th country with the highest rate of household robberies in the whole world.
Following Australia was Europe that bore a smaller population.
Looking at the statistics in robbery in Australia by state, the Northern Territory of Australia had the most cases of break-ins back in 2017.
This was then followed by areas located in the Western part of Australia that had 4.3% break-ins out of all the total cases. On the other hand, the Southern part of Australia had the least cases of break-ins at only 1.9% of cases.
Putting all these statistics together, Australia had a 2.5% average of break-ins across all households.
| State | What Statistics Show? |
| New South Wales |
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| Victoria |
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| Queensland |
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| Western Australia |
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| South Australia |
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| Tasmania |
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| Australian Capital Territory |
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| Northern Territory |
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Statistics On Common Items Stolen
Apart from the total number of robberies in Australia, statistics have also detected the top ten items commonly stolen during break-ins.
These are called hot items or things that robbers consider to be most valuable. These items are known to be quickly sold and disposed of.
Here is the list of the top ten hot items by order:
- Cash
- Laptop
- Jewelry
- Camera
- Cellphones
- Bags, purse, and wallets
- Identification documents
- TV sets
- Computer equipment
- Watches
It is highly recommended that these hot items are secured safely or locked away, most especially if homeowners are not around in their household.
Safekeeping these items can highly protect homeowners from experiencing theft and robbery. Thus, less likely to become the target of intruders.
Data From Drug Use Monitoring In Australia (DUMA) Survey
A study conducted back in 2015 aimed to gather data and information on the current scenario of burglary in Australia.
The study was participated by police detainees who were found guilty of committing theft in Australian homes.
Here’s what the gathered data has to say, which includes the percentage of detainees who responded.
Reasons for a decreased property crime rate were mainly because of:
- Better security (31%)
- Change in government policy (20%)
- Increased rate in affluence (11%)
- Increased rate in imprisonment (10%)
- A shift in drug use (7%)
- Market changes for stolen goods (4%)
- Others (23%)
Reasons for choosing a property to target were found out to be affected by two different factors. The following were:
- Decrease/lack of activity around the household- meant that the property might have appeared unoccupied by anyone.
- The property’s attractiveness- meant the area looked affluent with attractive surroundings, expensive cars, visible valuable items.
The common mistakes of homeowners which made their homes more at risk of robbery were also identified. The following are:
- Leaving points of entry like doors and windows open (70%)
- Decrease security (40%)
- Easy point of entries (25%)
- Easily detected keys (12%)
- False security alarm systems (8%)
- Structural design (5%)
- Skylights (2%)
Common factors for unsuccessful entries were also identified during the survey. The following factors were:
- Barking guard dog (61.4%)
- Presence of security alarm system (49.1%)
- Motion and light sensors within the property (22.8%)
- Well-lighted vicinity (19.3)
- Presence of grills on windows and doors (19%)
- Unfamiliar area (14%)
- Visibility of road from the property (14%)
- Presence of gates (12.3%)
Lastly, the survey also aimed to detect a burglar’s most common point/medium of entry. The results are as follows:
- Unlocked door (40%)
- Breaking in through doors/windows (35%)
- Breaking in through unlocked windows (28%)
- Breaking locks (20%)
- Others (15%)
Thus, it shows that it is highly recommended for homeowners to ensure entry points in their homes, such as doors and windows are locked at all times.
This discourages burglars from trying to consider breaking into homes.
Australian Homeowners Behaviours And Attitudes
The Budget Direct Home Insurance initiated another survey to reveal the attitudes and behaviours of 1,000 Australian homeowners when it comes to their home’s security.
The survey has revealed that an average Australian is commonly lax and takes unnecessary protocols for the protection and security of their homes to theft and robbery.
- 35% of respondents said they leave a spare key outside of their homes
- 58.7% of respondents said they commonly leave their packages and couriers outside of their homes unattended
- 55% of respondents who have experienced a break-in said they do not have a security alarm system installed
- 24.3% of respondents said they immediately installed their security system after a break-in 42.2 of the respondents said that a home security system was unnecessary
- 20% of the respondents said that home security was not necessary since they lived in a safe neighborhood
- 35.7% of the respondents said having a fake security camera was enough to discourage burglars from entering
- 46.6% of the respondents said that having a guard dog is enough to deter robbers from targeting their homes
Australian Homeowners Vs. Renters
Homeowners are most likely to have their security system, compared to renters.
According to the survey, 21% of the homeowners have their security system, while only 7.7% of renters have their security alarm system.
Homeowners and renters who did not secure their security system, claimed that the precaution is an unnecessary expense or that it was too expensive.
Home And Contents Insurance
Based on the survey, at least 69.4% of the respondents had home contents insurance, while 22% claimed that they are not confident if their home insurance would value all their belongings after a robbery.
67.2% of the respondents claimed that having their home security alarm system may affect their home insurance value.
The Bottomline
At the end of the day, keep in mind that securing your home is the best solution to the threats of burglary.
Some simple ways you can ensure the safety of your home from potential burglars is through:
- Locking entry points at all times
- Keeping valuables in a secured location (away from doors and windows)
- Avoid leaving couriers or packages unattended
- Leaving lights on inside the house in case if you will be out for a while
- Securing your homes with security alarm systems.
It’s time to start securing what you love. Reach out to Roden Security for a FREE home security audit today!