IFA Compare Admin
The British Crime Survey has revealed that Burglary rates in the United Kingdom have soared by 14%, taking Burglary rates to their highest level since 2004
This 14% increase equates to 94,000 more homes being the target of Burglars in 2010/2011
In fact the survey shows that approximately 745,000 homes were burgled in this period in total.
Put into context this means that 1 in 40 people experienced a Burglary last year or that there is one burglary every minute in England and Wales
Police believe that there are likely to be several reasons for this sudden hike in crime. One such reason is the current economic conditions. More and more people find themselves unemployed and due to fierce competition for jobs are finding it extremely difficult to secure employment and earn income.
Cuts in police funding have also meant police time is already stretched to breaking point. Statistics indicate that only one in eight burglaries is solved.
The head of the Crime and Justice Unit at the Policy Exchange think-tank, Blair Gibbs, suggests that this low detection rate is acting as a signal to criminals that they are likely to get away with such crimes and is a huge factor behind the reasons for this increase.
Given these recent findings the police and Government officials are urging the British public to remain vigilant and to take appropriate action to secure their property.
Too often criminals are finding it very easy to steal smaller items like mobiles, wallets are car keys and are taking advantage of such obvious opportunities.
Crime Stoppers have published a list of advice for people concerned about the security of their home to follow. They advised people to go back to basics to prevent their homes from being the target of such crimes. They suggest that taking simple steps such as locking all windows and doors, making sure mobiles, keys, wallets and purses are not visible through windows and never storing spare house keys outside, may be enough to deter some opportunistic criminals, but unfortunately not all.
Other steps that Crime Stoppers suggests are to purchase Mortice locks, Dead locks, window locks and Burglar alarms. Further to this, due to the fact that the vast majority of burglaries take place under the cover of darkness, Crime Stoppers suggests that outside lighting triggered by movement and timer lights activated for people who have left their property over-night can all be an excellent deterrent.
In light of these recent findings we may now see an increase in neighbourhood watch schemes through-out the United Kingdom.
If you are concerned about home security, visit the Crime Stoppers website for further information of action you can take.
© Copyright 2009 - 2012 IFAcompare.co.uk. All rights reserved.