Burglaries take many forms.
It isn’t just a case of people quietly breaking in late at night or while homeowners are out.

Here are two different examples that are apparently on the rise according to crime statistics.

• Distraction break ins

This happens when one person knocks on the front door and engages the homeowner in conversation on some pretext while their accomplice enters the property through another entrance.
The person at the door only has to distract the homeowner for a relatively short time for the damage to be done.

• Brute force

This happens when the homeowner believes they have created a very secure path of access to the property and therefore assumes it is secure but the burglars come well armed to break in. This ranges from the use of industrial bolt cutters to ripping things open with portable angle grinders. You might think the latter would be rather obvious because of the noise but if the burglars are dressed as workmen they are often ignored by neighbours.

So be on your guard and remember that for these kinds of burglaries the use of CCTV is often a very effective deterrent.