12
Apr
2013
By Calvin at 13:54 GMT, 11 years ago
- ‘Sock drawer’ identified as the top hiding place of choice for valuables
- One in five Brits (21%) have been victims of burglary in the home
- Some homeowners are so determined to keep out thieves they’ve gone as far as buying a dog to safeguard their homes (15%)
New research from Confused.com reveals that Brits need to get a bit more creative when it comes to hiding valuables from possible thieves.
According to the findings from the price comparison website, the most popular ‘secret’ hiding place for valuables in the home is the sock drawer (13%). But with this being a stereotypical hiding place, people's things are unlikely to be as safe as they may think.
Despite the fact that Brits estimate their home contents to be worth more than £38,000* on average, they are happily using obvious hiding places such as on top of the wardrobe (9%), under the bed (9%), or under the sink (6%) for items like jewellery and other valuables.
More than half of homeowners questioned (51%) admitted to keeping their valuables in such vulnerable places, despite knowing that these are obvious places for a thief to look. Of all the homeowners who took part in the research, more than a fifth (21%) had been a victim of burglary.
It seems that in order to foil the thieves, we need to stop lending them such a helping hand when it comes to locating our possessions. Luckily many Brits are taking notice of this fact and are becoming more safety conscious. Nearly half of burglary victims (45%) have taken additional security steps such as installing a burglar alarm to protect themselves from thieves, and more than a third have purchased extra window (39%) or door locks (36%).
In fact some homeowners are so determined to keep out thieves that they’ve gone as far as buying a dog to safeguard their homes (15%).
Gareth Lane, Head of Home Insurance at Confused.com said: "This research is proof we need to get smarter when protecting our possessions. Taking steps to prevent a burglary - from locking windows and doors to storing valuables in a secure safe - are just a few simple things that you can do to ensure that your home and its contents stay as safe as possible.
“The harder we make it for the thief to gain entry, the better. However, on the unfortunate occasion where they do gain entrance we need to think really carefully on how we can prevent them from locating our favourite possessions."
The top hiding places were identified as follows:
- Sock drawer
- Top of the wardrobe
- Under the bed
- Under the sink
- Bedside table
TCPW Comment
Findings from The Crime Prevention Website’s own Home Security Survey can add to this report from Confused.com....
When respondents to our survey were asked where they kept their cash, valuable jewellery and important documents 73% told us that they hide these items in various places around the house, whilst 27% kept the items in a safe of some description.
Of those that use a safe
- 43% use a cheap lightweight domestic safe
- 18% use a wall safe
- 7% use an under floor safe
- 32% use a safe certified to LPS 1183 or BS EN 1143- 1+A1:2009 or which is otherwise acceptable to insurers
Our Newsletter Number 7 will be focussing on safes, so if you’d like to find out more please subscribe here – and you’ll have a chance to enter a free prize draw to win one!
