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Detailed information on what burglars are looking for and what burglars want when they break into a property has now been revealed. A Washington Post infographic entitled “Anatomy of a Burglar” states that the average amount of loss per residential burglary is $1,725. Most burglaries occur between 10am and 3pm, when thieves know most people are at work.

What burglars want is for homes to appear empty. Having a car in the driveway and proper lighting turned on both outside and inside a home usually cause most burglars to look for different targets.

It also states that the typical burglar spends between 8 and 12 minutes in a house, quickly looking for valuables hidden in common places. What burglars want is to be in and out of a property quickly.

What Burglars Want When They Break In

Most burglars head to the bedroom first, searching for jewellery, cash and other small valuables that are easy to steal and also easy to sell. Most burglars do not hold on to the items they steal for very long. They are looking for valuables that they can easily turn into cash.

The same graphic also states that what burglars want is to spend 60 seconds or less breaking into a home. This allows him or her to enter the home quickly without being detected by neighbours or others walking by. Deadbolts, bars or shatter-proof windows are excellent ways to deter criminals.

Alarm systems and security cameras are the best possible deterrents. Criminals would much rather break into a home undetected. As for points of entry, 34% of burglars enter through the front door while 22% choose the back door. First floor windows are also common: 23% of break-ins begin this way. The garage is also a prime target, with 9% of burglars choosing this option.

What burglars want is the fastest and easiest route to valuables. They do not want to be detected, they do not want to take very long and – above all – they do not want to get caught.

Anything you can do to make it more difficult to break into your home or make it easier to draw attention to criminal activity will help protect you from burglars. Knowing what burglars want is a crucial part of stopping them.

Nadia Fezzani is a Canadian journalist who has conducted extensive research and interviews with many notorious American serial killers. As a specialist on serial killers, Ms. Fezzani gives conferences on the topic to university students and to different organizations. She also works with production companies on TV documentaries. She’s gotten into the minds of some of the most dangerous serial killers alive and learned to understand how they think. She has used this knowledge to provide helpful safety advice and tips on how you can avoid becoming a victim of a violent attack.

People tend to believe that people such as British Columbia serial killer, Robert Pickton, are of a rare species. Yet, in addition to approximately 40 serial killers already caught in Canada, many Canadian serial murderers run free.

In fact, 12 serial killers were notorious enough to be given nicknames without ever being found. They still live somewhere among us.

The Edmonton Prostitute Killer, the Canada Highway murderer, the Highway 16 Killer, the London Ontario Killer, the NW Territories Headhunter, The Ontario Lover’s Lane Killer, The Ottawa Teen Killer, The Toronto Hospital for Sick Children Murderer, the Toronto Prostitute Executioner, the Toronto Rape Slayer, the Montreal Boys Slasher and the Montreal Gay Ripper are all serial killers who were never caught.

Also, many homicides will never be linked together even if some of the murderers are captured. It is sometimes impossible to know if the crimes were committed by the same individual.

What can we do to avoid being victims of attackers? We all know the basic rules: lock your doors, do not talk to strangers, get an alarm system, have a guard dog at home and trust your instincts. Other less-known advice includes having deadbolt locks on all doors and avoiding wearing a pony tail at night. In addition, never bring God into a conversation when you face an attacker, as it will only enrage them. Fortunately for us, American serial killers today open up to give us tricks in their own words on how to better protect ourselves from others like them. Their advice is effective against any type of aggressor. Take their tips into consideration since they come from the experts and, ironically, usually relate to their own crimes.

The Happy Face Killer

Born in Canada, Keith Jesperson moved to Oregon at the age of 12. A trucker by profession, he would make his truck the prime location for his crimes. Although his first murder would end up being a fight that didn’t turn out well, he later acted violently whenever he faced a dilemma. He claimed that killing became too easy with time. When a couple was convicted for his first murder, Jesperson wrote to the authorities and the media to prove the guilty one was still free. He would sign his letters with a smile. What safety advice can be learned from him?

Safety Advice

At home, always keep your curtains pulled closed. Don’t let criminals see inside and determine what is worth taking, would it be property, assault, or your life. No free viewing! This safety advice can save your life!

Remove shrubbery and trees that allow people to stand by your home undetected.

Have lots of lights and invest in a security system. This is crucial safety advice.

Invest in the cam-over top and bottom bolts to secure your doors. Garage doors also need to be bolted so door openers cannot open them without the safety bolt disengaged.

Do not leave spare keys outside, under rocks, rugs or with anyone other than a neighbour you can trust.

Unfortunately you never know when danger can strike. A fire, flood or natural disaster can hit at any time and put you and your family in peril. The best way to prepare for such catastrophic events is by having an emergency exit plan. You can’t control when tragedy occurs, but you can use forward thinking to have an escape solution for when it does.

The first step in an emergency exit plan is to know where all of the exits are. You should have two exits in each bedroom. In many cases this means a door and a window. It’s important that all members of your family are able to find all exits without any hesitation or assistance. During a fire there may be a lot of thick smoke that makes it difficult to see clearly. You should be able to reach all exits with your eyes closed.

If your bedrooms are located on the second floor of your home, window escape routes will be more difficult to use as a part of your emergency exit plan. However, in the case of a fire, it may be necessary to do so. Every member of the family should know how to exit from a second storey window. Placing a ladder on the outside of your home to make escape easier is NOT recommended. Criminals frequently use such ladders to gain entrance to a home.

Emergency Exit Plan Details to Keep in Mind

If you have security bars on your windows, it’s important that they are easy to remove from the inside. In the case of an emergency you may not be able to find a key in time and quickly exiting through the window may be your only chance to escape. For this reason, you should periodically check that your windows can open freely and are not jammed. This is vital for a successful emergency exit plan.

It’s important that every member of your family understands the emergency exit plan and that you practice the plan from time-to-time. If you live with children, elderly people or anyone else that may require assistance, be aware that you will likely need to provide help to these people during an emergency.

One of the best ways to ensure minimal damage and a safe escape in the event of a fire is to have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms. These should be placed on every floor and regularly tested. You can even have your alarms monitored from a central alarm monitoring station to provide protection 24/7, even if you’re not at home. Doing so will improve your safety and help with your emergency exit plan.

As for the unreported crime, statistics Canada’s police-reported crime statistics show Canada’s crime rate falling each year.

However, these numbers only tell part of the story. Unfortunately, many crimes are not reported to police. A 2004 Criminal Victimization Study conducted by Stats Canada shows that 53 percent of robberies are not reported to police. The study also found that theft of household property was up 42 percent between 2000 and 2004.

Unreported crime because of fear?

In many cases, victims do not report crimes out of fear or because they feel the crime is too trivial to report. Some feel that law enforcement will not be able to catch the criminal and thus there is no point in reporting the crime. Data from the United States presents similar findings of unreported crime. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that only about 40 percent of property crimes were reported to the police in 2008.

Only 33 percent of violent crimes are reported in Canada whereas about half of all violent crimes are reported in the United States.

Nadia Fezzani is a Canadian journalist who has conducted extensive research and interviews with many notorious American serial killers. As a specialist on serial killers, Ms. Fezzani gives conferences on the topic to university students and to different organizations. She also works with production companies on TV documentaries. She’s gotten into the minds of some of the most dangerous serial killers alive and learned to understand how they think. She has used this knowledge to provide helpful life saving advice on how you can avoid becoming a victim of a violent attack.

What can we do to avoid being victims of attackers? We all know the basic rules for life saving advice: lock your doors, do not talk to strangers, get an alarm system, have a guard dog at home and trust your instincts. Other less-known advice includes having deadbolt locks on all doors and avoiding wearing a pony tail at night. In addition, never bring God into a conversation when you face an attacker, as it will only enrage them.

Fortunately for us, American serial killers today open up to give us tricks in their own words on how to better protect ourselves from others like them. Their life saving advice is effective against any type of aggressor. Take their tips into consideration since they come from the experts and, ironically, usually relate to their own crimes.

People tend to believe that people such as British Columbia serial killer, Robert Pickton, are of a rare species. Yet, in addition to approximately 40 serial killers already caught in Canada, many Canadian serial murderers run free.

In fact, 12 serial killers were notorious enough to be given nicknames without ever being found. They still live somewhere among us.

The Edmonton Prostitute Killer, the Canada Highway murderer, the Highway 16 Killer, the London Ontario Killer, the NW Territories Headhunter, The Ontario Lover’s Lane Killer, The Ottawa Teen Killer, The Toronto Hospital for Sick Children Murderer, the Toronto Prostitute Executioner, the Toronto Rape Slayer, the Montreal Boys Slasher and the Montreal Gay Ripper are all serial killers who were never caught.

Also, many homicides will never be linked together even if some of the murderers are captured. It is sometimes impossible to know if the crimes were committed by the same individual.

Life Saving Advice from the Classified Ad Rapist

We will never know exactly how many women Robert Joe Long raped, but experts estimate the number is somewhere between 50 and 150. “Bobby Joe” retired from his X-ray technician job to become a classified ads professional. After exploring the newspaper’s items put up for sale, this father of two would visit the housewives selling their furniture when their husbands would likely be at work. He then threatened them with a knife, before binding them and raping them.

On a few occasions, daughters as young as 12 or 13 years old were victimized. After being caught one day, he decided he would never be arrested again. He moved on to coming out of the bushes, kidnapping girls from their bicycles or just by meeting strippers and prostitutes on drugs. He raped and murdered 10 identified women by beating, stabbing, strangling, asphyxiating and/or shooting them.

Security & Life Saving Advice

Be safe, be careful. Most importantly, be smart. Don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation, not even once. Listen to your “little voice”. Anytime it says, “Hey, this is not right!” RUN! Never let a male into your home or car, unless you know him well and you know you can trust him. Also, big and nasty dogs are always good bodyguards.

Whether you’re renovating your home or making some repairs around the house, there will inevitably be a time where you can’t handle a project and you have to look to outside help. Working with a contractor can get the work done much faster, but it’s also important to keep safety in mind. Contractor security is important.

Remember that, in the majority of cases, you will be trusting a contractor with access to your home. You wouldn’t let just anybody into your home, would you? This is why contractor security is so crucial. It’s very important to exercise caution when working with contractors.

Before you hire someone, make sure to check their references. Many people ask for work samples, quotes and reviews of a contractor’s work, but it’s also very important for contractor security that you check more personal references as well. Someone that is skilled in building kitchens or offers a low rate to repair your plumbing may not be a trustworthy individual.

Whenever possible, get the names of some of the contractor’s former clients. You can use these references to not only research work quality, but also to determine if the contractor is honourable and as a part of contractor security research. You’ll want to know if were any problems with the contractor’s previous work relationships.

Once you’ve selected a contractor, the next decision you must make is regarding access to your home. Are you planning on being present during the contractor’s work? Will you be stopping by occasionally to check in? Or will you trust the contractor to work alone in your home?

Contractor Security Tips

If the contractor is working alone, will you be there to let him or her into the house in the morning and lock up at night? Or do you feel comfortable giving a relative stranger a copy of your house key and the code to your security system? This is an important decision you will need to make regarding contractor security.

You will also need to find out if the contractor is planning on using any subcontractors and, if yes, how these people will be monitored. Your contractor may be a trustworthy person, but the three other people he lets into your home to help complete the job may not be. Find out how your contractor knows everyone else involved and make sure you can trust all of these people.

But material theft is not the only contractor security concern you will have. It’s also important to ensure that a contractor isn’t stealing your time. When contracting out work, you need to know if everyone is arriving on time and if they’re working the hours they’re being paid for.

An excellent way to prevent theft and increase productivity is by using security cameras. Just knowing that they’re being watched makes many people more honest and productive and the cameras will record what time the workers start and stop their work. If you have Internet-enabled cameras you’ll be able to watch what’s going on inside your house from anywhere with an Internet connection.

If you don’t have cameras, you can use your home alarm system to make sure people are entering and leaving on time. If you notice that your alarm is being disarmed or armed at odd times, you can be pretty sure that your contractors are not working the hours they say they are!

In addition, at the end of the day when the workers are ready to lock up, they can turn on the alarm and leave your home secure. This improves contractor security a great deal.

Security research conducted in Gainesville, Florida shows that most residential burglars gain entrance to homes by the front door. This security research contrasts with the popular image of criminals lurking in the shadows and sneaking through a side window under the cover of night.

31.97 percent of residential burglars entered homes via a single swing door. Many people consider their doors to be the most secure part of their homes, but this security research study shows that to be false. If a criminal wants to enter your home, chances are that he or she will do so in the same way you do: through the front door.

When securing your front door a good place to start is my installing a high quality dead bolt. Dead bolt locks are much harder to break or pick than other types of door locks. It’s also important to consider the strength and frame of the door. A strong lock will not protect you if the door frame can be easily pried open or ripped off or the door itself can be kicked in.

However, don’t stop at your door. It is important to ensure your security system properly covers all possible weaknesses in your property. The Florida study states that the second most frequent entry point is through sliding windows. 23.03 percent of all burglaries began this way.

Security Research can Help Secure Properties

According to the security research cited above, double hung windows accounted for 8.06 percent of break ins and sliding glass doors (the types usually found at the back of homes) were the target in 6.26 percent of burglaries.

Security bars are an excellent way to prevent unwanted access through windows. They can be provide physical barriers to entry and can be installed on the inside or the outside of the window. A number of styles are available.

The variety of different entry points underscores an important point: your home must be secured with several types of security devices and you cannot take the risk of only protecting one or two areas. Keep this security research in mind always. Taking a comprehensive security approach and applying several different types of security in each area of your home will greatly decrease the chance of a break in.

Criminals do not want to be seen. It is much easier to break into a dark property and stay hidden in the shadows than it is to walk through a lighted area where people will notice you. This is why many break and enters occur at night and why security lighting is such a good way to prevent crime.

Installing security lighting is an excellent way to protect your home or office.

One of the best ways to use security lighting to protect your property is to add perimeter motion-activated lights. These lights will turn on when movement is detected. Not only does this save energy, but it also can startle burglars and draw attention to anyone approaching your property. Leaving a light on all the time usually isn’t practical, but motion-activated lights are a real nuisance for anyone intent on burglarizing a home!

Using Security Lighting

Another great way to use security lighting to protect your home is by installing X10 programmable light timers. These can be scheduled to turn on and off at different times, making it look like people are inside going about their daily lives. A light that is on 24/7 (especially during daylight hours) is a good indication that the home is unoccupied. By creating an atmosphere where lights are automatically set to come on at different times and turned off during the day, no one will know when you’re at home and when you’re not!

Security lighting also makes it easier for security cameras to record details. In complete darkness, standard surveillance cameras won’t record anything but black. An infrared camera can help the situation, but having light shine on the area your cameras are recording is even better.

The positioning and placement of your security lighting is also important. If the paths from the street to your front door or the garage to your house are especially dark, you should definitely place lights in these locations. Not only will the lights prevent trips and falls, but they will also deter criminals and prevent ambushes.

This summer, Statistics Canada released stats for police-reported crime in 2009. Canadian crime is once again down, falling 3% between 2008 and 2009 and 17% between 1999 and 2009.

Canadian crime by provinces

The highest crime rates in the country are in the western provinces and northern territories. The only crime increases came in Manitoba and Nunavut. Nunavut had the highest crime severity index ranking in the country and the highest violent Canadian crime ranking as well. Prince Edward Island was the safest province in the country.

In terms of metropolitan areas, Regina, Saskatchewan is the most dangerous region in the country followed by Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba. Guelph, Ontario, Quebec City, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario are the safest. The national crime rate reached a peak in the late 1980s/early 1990s and the current rate is similar to the late 1970s. However, the crime rate from 1962 to 1972 was much lower than it is today. Canada’s crime rate was 131% higher in 2009 than in 1962, when Statistics Canada first started keeping records.

So while the good news is that crime continues to fall, it’s obvious that we have a long road ahead of us.

Home Alarm Security Services

If you have a home alarm security services or other type of protection, you may not worry about it very often. If your home alarm system is working correctly, all you may be concerned with is enabling and disabling it when needed. However, if your security system is a few years old or if you haven’t looked into other home alarm security services in a while, you could be missing out on getting the best security coverage.

Depending on when you installed your residential home alarm system, there may have been significant technological advantages since you set your security services up. The cost of residential security has also dropped dramatically for many services, so you may be able to afford more now than you could a couple of years ago.

Upgrades for Home Alarm Systems

One of the main upgrades you can make to your security home alarm services is the addition of video security cameras. Installing surveillance cameras is an excellent way to monitor the activities taking place in your home or office. Not only will the cameras allow you to record the actions of any intruders, but the very presence of these surveillance cameras will deter thieves from even thinking about targeting your property. Even if you already have a surveillance camera system installed as part of your security home alarm services, you may want to look at all of the camera systems currently available. There are some interesting new options out there. Modern security camera systems can be set up to allow online monitoring. With this additional residential security option, you are able to log into a secure website from anywhere with Internet access and look at live video of what is going on in your home.

Today’s surveillance cameras are also able to record video at a much higher resolution than ever before. In case of a break in, you will be able to see even more detail about the thieves involved.

Another upgrade you may wish to make is adding fire protection to your home alarm security services. Monitored fire protection provides you with the peace of mind that your home will be guarded against smoke and fire damage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even if there is a fire while you are away from the house, the monitoring station will protect your home and call the fire department in case of a fire.

Monitored Home Alarm System Protects You

If you’re thinking of upgrading your home alarm security services, you may wish to switch to a monitored residential security system – if you do not have one already. A monitored home alarm system comes with a monthly fee, but it also offers protection 24/7. In the event of a break in, the alarm monitoring station will contact the appropriate authorities and protect your home.

Unfortunately, many thieves attempt to learn the ins and outs of home alarm security services and alarm in order to make it easier on them. A system that does not include several layers of quality security could be at risk. Thankfully, the quality of security systems continues to improve and the variety of options grows on a regular basis.