In summer, as temperatures continue to rise, people’s outdoor activities increase accordingly. People usually like to ventilate and cool off by opening doors and windows, and many people are accustomed to sleeping with windows open at night. However, these unintentional behaviors have provided frequent opportunities for some criminals to commit burglary.

The seasonal characteristics of summer determine that it is a high incidence period for burglary cases. Many residents in residential areas are repeatedly visited by thieves, and these burglary cases often occur late at night and early in the morning. The main methods of committing crimes involve drilling windows, and prying doors. Lower-level residents of bungalows and buildings are more prone to crimes. Criminals mainly target residents living in remote areas, as well as those who open doors or windows. They continuously commit crimes against several connected households and steal items such as cash, jewelry, passbooks, and bank cards that are easy to take away.

Most of the targets of the burglars are residents below the fifth floor, and the sewer pipes outside the building walls, external air-conditioner hosts, and window guardrails have become tools for suspect to climb. Especially due to the specialized and easily escalating nature of certain criminal methods, they are highly likely to transform into malignant cases such as robbery and murder, posing significant social harm.

1 Several characteristics of burglary cases

• Target selection: Mainly targeting residential areas with poor prevention facilities and multiple entrances and exits, targeting old buildings with climbing conditions, waiting for opportunities to climb into the house from balconies, windows, courtyard walls, etc.
• Time selection: Generally, the crime is mostly committed in the second half of the night or after 10am and 4pm, with 2 to 3 people involved. During the crime, there is a clear division of responsibilities for surveillance, implementation, and escape, and motor vehicles are usually used. Once successful, the perpetrators can quickly flee.
• Criminal methods: Mostly climbing kitchens, bathrooms, balconies, and sewage pipes while wearing socks, and unscrewing the hallway sound control lights beforehand. The crime scene was not disturbed, and the theft mainly involved valuable items and cash. The criminals are mostly in groups, wandering around to commit crimes, changing their residence frequently.

2 Residents should beware of the “three thief tricks” at home

• Thief trick one – deceived way to enter: “I will deliver the goods”, “I will give gifts”, “I will find acquaintances”, “I will come to repair”. When encountering such strangers who come to the door voluntarily, be cautious, perhaps they are the thief.

Tip: Don’t let strangers into your home easily. Parents should educate their children not to open doors for strangers at will.

• Thief trick two – pry open doors and windows: During the day when residents are working or late at night when residents are asleep, thieves use pry bars, pliers, jacks and other tools to quickly pry open the doors and windows of the house and commit burglary.

Tip: Thieves usually choose doors and windows that are easy to pry open. It is recommended that residents purchase anti-theft doors with upper and lower locks, and lock the door when leaving home or sleeping. Install anti-theft net with vertical bars spaced no more than one fist apart, and install three or more horizontal bars. Do not store large amounts of cash and valuable items at home. It is recommended to store your belongings in the bank’s safe before traveling far away. Once a theft case occurs, attention should be paid to protecting the scene, which is beneficial for the police to collect evidence.

• Thief trick three – using fishing tools to commit theft: Taking advantage of people’s deep sleep at night, the thief uses a fishing rod to insert into the house through the window crack and steal money, goods, etc.

Tip: The residents on the first floor are the main targets of thieves, so they should keep their wallets and valuables away from the windows. If you’re not afraid of wasting electricity, turn on a light at home to deter thieves from taking action.

3 10 Methods to prevent thieves from entering home

(1) Close the door – Do not open the door for a moment of coolness, especially for single women who are alone at home. If you really want to blow the wind in the hall, you must first install anti-theft iron screen doors and leave a small gap. Before going to bed at night and during the day when there is no one at home, doors and windows should be tightly closed.

(2) Install anti-theft nets – Residents living on lower floors should try to install protective fences and glass windows. Although many low-rise residents have installed anti-theft nets, they can leave some security risks: on the one hand, they can easily become a support for thieves to climb to higher floors, causing neighbors who have not installed anti-theft nets to be robbed. On the other hand, thieves can easily cut anti-theft nets and enter indoors to steal.

(3) The installation of door locks should be standardized – use locks that meet safety technical standards, and avoid using locks such as “padlocks”. Using padlocks shouldn’t be used to lock doors, it tells the people that there is no one at home.

(4) Installing a burglar alarm system – Install protective barriers, anti-theft doors, or infrared alarm devices on doors and windows. When installing a burglar alarm system, choose a well serviced and technologically mature network alarm monitoring service company.

(5) Clothes should be placed away from windows – do not place clothes or valuable items close to windows or in obvious indoor locations to prevent thieves from reaching out or using long poles to steal their belongings.

(6) Separate storage of certificates of deposit and ID cards – try not to store large amounts of cash or certificates of deposit at home, and keep valuable items in places that are difficult for outsiders to discover. A password should be set for the passbook, and the account and password should be kept in mind or in other secret notebooks. Do not put them together with household registration books, ID cards, and other documents.

(7) Marking – For some valuable items, it is best to mark the owner’s name to create obstacles for criminals to sell stolen goods.

(8) Empty City Strategy – When the whole family goes out at night, it is best to turn on a light or turn on the radio or television. When the whole family goes out for a long time, it is necessary to hang some clothes on the balcony, making it difficult for criminals to judge whether there are people at home and not daring to act rashly.

(9) Neighborhood care – Unity and harmony among neighbors, mutual care is a good strategy to strengthen prevention. When encountering strangers wandering near the residence, be extra careful and seek help from police for assistance if necessary.

(10) Should not be brave – if awakened by a thief in your sleep, do not panic, lie still in bed, and try to observe the behavior of the criminal. If encountering masked criminals, it is necessary to record their height, clothing, accent, behavior, and other characteristics to provide clues for police officers to solve the case.