Some questions and answers from our Home Security Survey

As a result of a recent question sent to me by a police officer I thought you might like to see my reply: 

The email was asking me about the people who complete our Home Security Survey, because he was thinking about promoting the app to his neighbourhood in order to raise awareness about a recent spate of burglary.

The age of the survey’s respondents:

16 - 35   20.8%

36 - 55   46.7%

56 - 74   29.3%

75+         3.2%

Older people suffer fewer burglaries

How long has the respondent been living at the survey address?

Less than 1 year                 17.6%

1 – 10 years                        39.1%

10 years +                           43.2%                   

We know that people who have only been living at their address for a short time have a higher chance of burglary and so it’s good to see that a significant number of our respondents have been living in their homes for less than one year, because they are doing the right thing!

Has the respondent been the victim of a burglary at the survey address within the last 12 months?

No                                               91.4%

Yes within the last 6 weeks         5.2%

Yes within the last 3 months       0.8%

Yes within the last 6 months       0.6%

Yes within the last 12 months     2.0%

If you’ve just been burgled then you should act immediately to prevent a reoccurrence.  A second burglary occurring shortly after the first happens more often than you might think!

Respondent’s employment status

Full time working                             59.9%

Part time working                            12.5%

Retired                                             22.3%

Unemployed                                     5.3%

Unemployed people suffer a disproportionate number of crimes

The respondent’s home is located:

In a non-leaking cul-de-sac            18.7%

In a leaking cul-de-sac                   22.9%

Within a gated community              1.5%

On a through road                          51.7%

In another place, not as above       5.1%

People living in non-leaking cul-de-sacs suffer fewer burglaries

So, I ask these questions in the survey, because they have a bearing on burglary risk and so affect the risk assessment score issued with the security report, which is sent to respondents once they have completed the survey. 

Importantly though, most of the questions are about the physical security of the dwelling, because this really does make a big difference to their chances of suffering a break-in.

That’s why I ask questions about alarms; door and window locks, back alleys, security lighting, insurance rated safes and so on and here’s what my respondents told me in answer to a just a few of the questions I ask.

The alley running to the rear of my home: 

Does have locked gates at its entrances                                25%

Does NOT have locked gates at its entrances                        75%

Seems like there’s a whole lot of alleyways waiting to be gated!!

Does the respondent have a light outside the main entrance door?

Yes and it comes on automatically by solar or PIR switch    48%

Yes, but the respondent has to switch it on manually           30%

No                                                                                          22%

Not having an automatic light illuminating the front door means that you could be finding it difficult to put the key in the lock and maybe you’re putting yourself at risk.

How secure is the respondent’s garden shed?

Very well secured            14%

Quite well secured           47%

Not that well secured       39%

I must emphasise that a very secure garden shed is a basic and very important security requirement.  If the burglar doesn’t steal from your shed then he/she could use tools found within to break into your home.

If you have an alarm system is there a bell box visible from the back garden?

Yes         47%

No          53%

Having a dummy alarm box on the rear elevation of a dwelling is really important if the burglar can get into the back garden.  If there isn’t one then the burglar may think that you don’t have an alarm and attempt to break in.  Yes, this may well set the alarm off, but you could end up with unnecessary damage and a rude awakening in the night!    

So, now you’ve seen some of the questions we ask in the survey (and hopefully understand why they are asked) maybe you’d like to do the survey yourself and find out what you might need to do to keep your home secure this winter. 

It’s free and anonymous and if you choose to download the security report to your own computer be rest assured that the email address used for this purpose will never be used by us for anything else again – please note the padlock, the word ‘secure’ and the ‘s’ in https in our web address.