It is a well known fact that home insurance premiums have been affected by crime rates over the past two or three years and have risen as a result of a crime wave that has been linked to recession and job cuts. However, there may well be evidence that links it to something else – softer sentencing. A major insurance company recently requested the official figures relating to convicted burglars and their sentences and the statistics make for grim reading, which may not surprise you.
44% of all burglars convicted during 2010 were sent to jail. The rest did not face a custodial sentence at all, but of those who received a suspended sentence only 48% did not reoffend within 12 months. In other words, approximately 21% of all of those convicted of burglary in 2010 have offended again since. It is no wonder that burglary levels have gone up!
This may also give you some idea as to why many homeowners and tenants alike are worried about being targeted time and time again. 9% of people who are burgled face the crime for at least a second time within five years and many never get the justice they deserve despite the stress they suffer. Over 60% of victims spoken to in a recent survey have stated that the police were never able to catch the criminal but 28% no longer felt safe in their own home.
That said, there are things you can do to try to protect yourself. For example, you can keep doors locked. 24% admit to not locking their doors and a further 53% do not have any dead bolts fitted. Any failure to take even the most simple of security measures can cause problems as far as leaving yourself exposed to crime goes. However, if you try to think like a burglar, you can soon find out where the weaknesses in your property lie to prevent any future crime.