'I'm a former home burglar - one particular thing would put me off targeting a house'
'I'm a former home burglar - one particular thing would put me off targeting a house'
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A self-proclaimed former burglar has revealed the types of homes she would target - and what you can do to guard against theft. The 26-year-old, who remains anonymous and claims she served two years of a three year prison sentence for her crimes, started breaking into houses when she was just aged 18.
While living on the streets, she says she developed a drug problem and would burglarise homes to steal items that she could sell on to "fuel her bad habits". Taking to Reddit, she said: "I've since gotten sober, got married and have a beautiful little girl. I have a job and we are living a very happy life. It's a struggle still, but I'm in a much better place mentally.".
When asked what she looks for when deciding whether to target a specific house or not, she said: "I avoided houses with dogs outside out of fear that it would bark and alert someone. Realistically dogs bark at everything though and I know now it wouldn't be an issue. If the house had cameras I would avoid them for obvious reasons.
"The houses I looked at most were the ones that didn't have cars in front during the day and had a backdoor entrance. I used to have a method of entering through doors by removing the door frame, but moved to a more practical approach of just breaking a window. So climbable windows were another big plus.".
She says there's many things homeowners can do to try to guard against theft, including installing cameras around their home. She added: "Security cameras are a good deterrent. Alarm systems too, though people should educate themselves on how to properly use them. Ring cameras are good too for facial identification. Leaving a TV on can also give the impression that someone is home, and you're more likely to be left alone.".
