“Secrets of a Professional Burglar”

(Article reprint from an ex-professional burglar)

From my own experience as a successful burglar and also from talking with hundreds of fellow inmates in prison for burglary, I’ve concluded that burglary is a psychological game. The only real deterrent is the realization that there is immediate danger to him, the burglar. Locks don’t do this. Alarms don’t do it. Only mind games really work. I’m not against good locks, sturdy doors and alarm systems. But if you rely 70% on mind games and 30% on hardware, you’ll do much better in the end.

If a burglar sees warning signs no matter how outlandish, on your house, he will think twice before breaking in. These signs should be handwritten, in large clear print, on six-inch by eight-inch cards posted above each door knob. Don’t put them on the street or in your yard where passersby can see them. You don’t want to give a burglar a reason to case your place and find out that they are not true. You can make up your own wording. Just be sure the signs look fresh and new. Some suggestions…

• “Danger extremely vicious, barkless German Doberman.” In his nervous frame of mind, a burglar probably isn’t going to wonder if there is such a thing. He won’t want to take the chance.
• “Knock all you want. We don’t answer the door.” Most burglars check to see if anyone is home before breaking in. About 95% of those questioned said they’d pass up a house with that sign.
• “Carpenter: Please do not enter through this door.” My son’s three rattlesnakes have gotten out of the cage and we’ve closed them off in this room until he returns, hopefully in a few days. We’re sorry for this inconvenience but we don’t want anyone else to get bitten. The first is still in the hospital.
• “Please stop! We’ve already been forced to kill one burglar who was trying to get in while we weren’t home. Please don’t become the second.” Like the barkless dog sign, this one seems outlandish. But a jittery burglar isn’t going to stick around thinking up ways you could kill him while you’re not home.
• “Attack dogs trained and sold here.” Again, 95% said they’d be gone like a shot if they saw this sign. Suggestion: have one engraved and post it on your front door (so it can’t be seen from the street.”

Leave extremely large bones and two-foot-wide dog dishes near all entrances. Someone who’s up to no good will think a very large dog lives there.

Paste stickers on the windows indicating that you have an alarm system. Try motion-detector alarms: “This building is equipped with laser-type motion-detector devices. Bodily movements inside will set off audible or silent alarm.” Some 85% of inmates said they’d pass up a house with this notice. Also: Paste alarm foil along windows. Put suction cups on the inside of windows and alarm type bells on the outside walls.

Put fine gravel in your driveway or in your gardens surrounding the house. This makes a lot of noise that burglars won’t want to chance.

When you go away on vacation, don’t tell anyone except the local police. Ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspapers and occasionally empty a small can of junk into your trash can. Close all shades, blinds or curtains. Leave one or two radios on. Have your outside lights on a light sensitive switch and inside ones on an alternating timer. Take your phone off the hook. Put up your deterrent signs.

Buy an air horn (the kind small boat owners use). If someone breaks in while you’re at home go to the opposite window and squeeze the horn. These horns can be heard for a mile over water. Everyone said this tactic would scare them off.

Common Lock and Alarm Mistakes

• Putting a deadbolt or other expensive lock on a flimsy door that can be kicked in. Also: Thinking that this lock will do the trick. The burglar simply uses a bigger crowbar.
• Not locking a door when you’re home.
• Positioning a lock on a door with a glass window in such a way that if the window is broken, the burglar can reach in and unlock the door.
• Installing the burglar alarm on/off switch outside the house, not inside it.
• Forgetting to turn on your alarm.

Some Burglar Survey Results

• 85% were deterred by hearing a TV or radio in the house.
• 75% were more likely to go through windows than doors.
• 85% cased out a house before hitting it.
• Only 20% picked locks or tried to pick them. Why: it takes too much skill. There are so many faster ways into a house.
• 63% cut the phone lines before entering.
• 65% said that a large unfriendly dog would scare them away. Most frightening: Dobermans.
• 80% looked in garage windows to see if a home owner’s car was there.
• 50% said the neighborhood security guards didn’t deter them.
• 72% made their entrance from the back.
• 56% continued to burglarize if they were already inside when they realized that people were at home but asleep.