burglary even when you have an alarm?

bluedrop

I'm just curious.

Do houses with alarms get burgled too?

Pls share your experiences...

Avoriaz

Yes, of course they do.

Some people think alarms encourage burglary as it suggests there is something to steal.

Others think they discourage burglars.

I'm more inclined to the latter but many burglars are thick, high on drugs etc and may not even notice a burglar alarm.

bluedrop

I am worried sick about burglary - we are going away for 2weeks in December....

We moved into the area recently. I'm planning to install a yale premium alarm and a security camera. I am an Asian - in the last few months, I heard of 2-3 Asian homes burgled in the area - possibly for gold. - the thought of having a stranger in my house when I'm not around is very scary.

I have insurance coverage....In the event of burglary, how can I prove to the insurance company what exactly I lost? I don't have recipes for gold - it's was gifted by my parents for my wedding. Also, how do I evidence electronic gadgets I don't have receipts for?

Nilrem

One fairly easy way to help with it is photographs, take general pictures of the contents, then specific ones of things that are of high value (with jewellery you might want to do it on a newspaper with a ruler in shot).
For electrical stuff get a shot of the label that has the serial number etc - that also helps with warranty returns and repairs

In the longer term if you can get a jeweller to give a valuation of the jewellery that helps with insurance, although obviously only for the monetary value, not for any emotional value.

And of course keep copies of the photo's etc away from the house (on DVDR or memory stick at family/friends, you can encrypt them if you want easily enough with winrar).

Which reminds me I need to take updated photo of my house/garage contents soon, it's been a while since I did it.

paulofessex

May be consider getting on of these floor safes there are various sites that sell them at different prices, even seen them on ebay.

We have had one for years, it is completely hidden, used for keeping the jewelry and important papers in as it also is fire proof i.e. 2-3 hour burn time.

You can even fit these in between joists just inside the loft.

I_have_spoken

Best have the gold in a safety deposit box.

bluedrop

Im considering getting a safe. But dont burglars come with metal detectors? In a recent burglary on an asian's home, they took away the safe! Buggars know what exactly they want!! Having it in the loft is a good idea...we dont have a pull out ladder for the loft - that might make it difficult for a burglar

paulofessex

bluedrop wrote: »

Im considering getting a safe. But dont burglars come with metal detectors? In a recent burglary on an asian's home, they took away the safe! Buggars know what exactly they want!! Having it in the loft is a good idea...we dont have a pull out ladder for the loft - that might make it difficult for a burglar

Most of the time l believe burglars just want to grab what they can as quick as they can, therefore spending time looking for safes may not be on their agenda, unless of course they are aware a particular household has one.
I prefer the floor safe as it is easier to fix in place, l feel a lot of these other safes people fail to fix to the wall due to it being awkward to find a suitable location.

ShootForTheMoon

Call the local Police force on the non-emergency number and ask for a beat officer to visit your home. They will be able to give you plenty of specific crime prevention advice as they will see where your "weak spots" are.

Invest in some cheap light switch timers (to make lights come on at different times), a decent security light and an alarm... If your house is more difficult to break into than next door, the sad fact is, these scummers will go next door...

If you feel you may be targeted for your gold, deposit it in a safe or with family whist you are away. Tell local family or friends that you are going and get them to check in on the house every couple of days.

Hope that helps!!

Errata

Bury your gold items in a plastic box in the garden. Whilst burglars may ransack a house, they're not famous for digging up the whole garden on the offchance they'll find something.

nickj_2

one of my customers was burgled despite having an alarm and their neighbour going round to see what was going on , scum got away with tv after smashing a window