Bandits roaming the country, breaking in and robbing anything they can find, is a picture we know from thrillers about robberies and burglaries or from cult comedies, such as Chris Columbus' film - "Kevin home alone". Thus, the vision of such crimes in our lives seems rather distant and unreal. Is this how we should perceive them?
The most reliable answer to this question comes from police statistics. What can we learn from them? It turns out that over the last twenty years the number of burglary offences has fallen by as much as 80%. This is excellent news, especially as at the same time their detection rate has increased - from 23.5% in 1999 up to 44.4% in 2019. Does this mean we can feel safe? Unfortunately not, because although police figures are optimistic, there are still around 70,000 burglaries in our country every year.
Is that a lot? Just imagine that every 7.5 minutes somewhere in Poland such a crime occurs. It is also worrying that since 2017 the number of crimes in this category has been gradually increasing. Mazowieckie, Dolnośląskie and Śląskie provinces are leading the way. In Warsaw alone and 9 districts under the Capital Police Headquarters, almost 4,000 burglaries and thefts were recorded in July 2020 alone. For comparison: in the same period there were 20 murders, 60 rapes and 160 fights and beatings. The scale is therefore huge, with burglary taking an infamous second place, just after ordinary theft, among the most common types of public nuisance crime recorded by the police.
Who are the victims? Most often they are property owners in towns and on the outskirts of cities, i.e. wherever the inhabitants are more affluent. At the same time, it is worth noting that the victims are not only owners of flats and houses equipped with luxury goods. Thefts with burglary are less frequent in villages, where it is more difficult to remain anonymous, although such crimes are not rare there either. Police data leave no doubt - burglary is a serious problem.
Interestingly, the upward trend in the number of burglaries is not only noted by the Polish police. Of course, one can also speculate whether the current economic situation, associated with the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis, will not prompt criminals to increase their activity in the coming months and years.
The upward trend in the aforementioned crimes prompts us to reach for measures to help protect property from burglars. Security products, including burglar-proof doors and windows, roller shutters, grilles, robust gates and fences, can help. Durable security features require strength and time to break through and make thieves leave more traces. All this increases the risk of failure and even of a burglar being caught in the act. This effectively discourages attempted burglaries. Automation, including alarm systems or access control, is also important.
And if that fails? What remains is the proper securing of property. Insurance companies, which thoroughly analyse reported theft losses, agree that thieves usually steal objects of high value and small size – everything that can be quickly and easily taken away. Therefore it is most often jewellery, watches, cash, electronics and other small items which are easy to cash. All such things are easiest to secure by placing them in a safe. Even a small, discreet home safe, such as Hartmann Tresore offers, can significantly increase the security of your belongings. In such a safe, you can also place documents, data carriers and memorabilia, i.e. anything that would be particularly severe if lost or destroyed.
It is best to take a number of measures to increase security - both outside the building and inside in the event of an external barrier being breached. So, let's be cautious and not give in to thieves – also by not sharing potentially useful details of your financial status or holiday plans on social networks.
Thinking of buying a safe, but not sure which model to choose? Visit the Hartmann Tresore website and contact our advisors.
Read our other articles, too: Home safe – a fad or a real need?
