“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.
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Comments on “Secrets of a Professional Burglar”
Interesting.
I enjoyed reading the above for what it’s worth but I would personally bypass all of it. Those SCARE tactics would not frighten a Professional Thief. It’s hard for me to believe that a pro came up with this stuff! Let me school the beginner. The answer is simple and it’s also time consuming BUT not getting caught is key.
#1. Surveillance. This involves more than just “casing” a home. That technique alone is so out-of-date. LOL
#2. Learn how to move in the shadows undetected. There is a lot to learn in this subject BUT it’s not rocket science. I always have fun with this. Tip- Use natural sounds to cover whatever small sounds you may make.
#3. Become a master of disguise. Reversible jacket anyone?
#4. Be the best listener you can be. You won’t believe the information that people will freely tell you.
#5, is the MOST IMPORTANT!! You must have an ingress & regress plan. PLAN!! PLAN!! PLAN!! If you plan lazy and take shortcuts, than you are only risking your FREEDOM!
Do not set time deadlines on yourself until your plan is 99.99% full proof!
Well, I have pretty much set the foundation know it’s up to you to FILL IN THE BLANKS!
REAL PROS DONT GET CAUGHT AND GO TO PRISON!
Read that book (OPEN THE DOOR ) about burglars work
http://www.schluesseldienst.cc/eng
Killed one already!
The dogs don’t work I have a German Shepard and they used a tazer on her, The best thing to do is if you are home get a gun, don’t use no smart remarks or say anything at all. Shoot them before they even know your there. One thing I do not agree on is that you even have to wait for them to get in the house. The 2nd admendment did not at all say we have the right to bear arms only in our house, but everywhere.
@Citystreetz: Let me ask you this would you try to hit a combat vets house? I had a theif that the cops could not catch for 3 years. His mistake though was to try for a second time at my house and he was pretty slick, but he was no match for me because even though I admit I got slopy the first time, and almost turned into a dumb ass civilian. The second time he tried I was one step ahead of them because I no there is never just one.
I was right behind him in the bush because I was a scout sniper and as soon as he stuck his head in my kitchen window and he did not know I was right behind him. I stuck my 357 mag to the back of his worthless head and you should have seen the brain parts all over my house. May he rest in HELL.
Every theif has his day I asure you, and a day later I had to hear his mother on TV crying what a good boy he was. I wish I would of been there to so I could of slaped the crap out of her.
@Alan Golder: I HAVE FOUND THAT BURGLARS WORK IN SETS OF FOUR OR MORE. ROOFTOP AND GRAPEVINES, MANY TREES, ETC…GREATLY HELP THEM. THEY ALSO USE SMALL DOGS AND THEIR OWN CHILDREN AS LOOKOUTS. CRAWL SPACES…WOW….IT IS JUST UNREAL!! I HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THEM (MY TWO BOYS AND i HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PROVE WHAT THEY DO). THEY CUT TRAP DOORS IN ROOF AND GARAGE. GET TO BASEMENT OR ANYWHERE. HAVE GONE THROUGH DUCTING, VENTS, MORE. TOOK BRICKS OUT OF HOUSE TO MAKE ROOM FOR THEFT. THEY USE GRAPEVINES AND MAYBE OTHER THINGS THAT RESEMBLE VINES. SO FAR, WE HAVE LOST ABOUT 1/2 OF SONS ITEMS THAT I WAS SAVING FOR THEM SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO BE POOR…I GREW UP POOR. WENT TO COLLEGE, HOWEVER WAS BIT BY VERY BAD TICK….NOW DISABLED. MY BOYS HAVE BEEN KEPT INNOCENT AND THIS IS NEW TO ME. VERY FRUSTRATING, BECAUSE THIS HOUSE WAS TO BE THEIRS. FOUND OUT THEY CAN DISABLE / BREAK ALARMS, CAMERAS, MORE. TAKE PUDDY OUT OF WINDOWS. HAVE MINORS DO MUCH OF THE WORK FOR THEM ALSO. MANY LOOK OUTS. SO FAR, THERE IS FOURTEEN OF THEM AGAINST JUST ME. MY FAMILY TOTALLY DESERTED US. WE GET NO HELP. IT IS SCARY. DAY AND NIGHT. THEY STALK, KNOW EVERYTHING WE DO….WE DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY NOR KNOWLEDGE TO FIGHT THEM. WITH LYME, I REALLY GET WORN. IT IS JUST SO UNBELIEVABLE…MY OWN MOTHER DOES NOT EVEN BELIEVE ME. THEY ALSO HAVE WAY TO SUPERIMPOSE PHOTOS, ALTHOUGH I CAN TELL SINCE HAD MANY CLASSES. WHAT EVER I DO, SEEMS LIKE THEY HAVE TO UNDO, JUST TO MAKE ME MORE ANGRY….NEED HELP, NOT FOR ME, BUT IS NOT RIGHT FOR MY BOYS. I WILL WAIT FOR REPLY AND EMAIL BACK..CAN NOT GIVE MINE OUT
I’ve been in the alarm business for over 20 years now. After talking with some burglars the best thing I have seen on the market is Videofied. They tell tell me that to be seen by some one while attempting to enter or after entry is thing they want the less. Now I only sell Videofied alarm systems because 1) The system can send video when some one or thing trips the motion. 2) The monitoring company can see and determine if it is some one or some thing that trips the alarm, thus cutting back on false alarms. 3) the motion viewers can be placed most anywhere indoors or out. 4) there is no phoneline or other wire communications needed. 5) There is no power required. 6) Owner can move motion viewers at will so the burglar will never know if it is in a tree, on the porch or some other place. 7) Low cost to monitor only about $34.99 per month.
Other camera system are easy to get by because they require a DVR on site ((easy to find and destroy) and most are not monitored by any one (cost to much to monitor most companies charge $70 plus).
Hi,
I have a burglar that lives at my house. He’s my sisters boyfriend and his name is Denny. I did not know when he
first moved in because my sister did not tell me, so when
things when missing and my locks kept shaking and not working
properly because of BUMPING I thought it was her and she had
lost her mind. Anyway, I work nights and this guy breaks into
my apartment when I leave. We live in a really nice brownstone
and my sister has the first two floor I have the top two floors.
This guy is a really a bum he has done so much stuff to me.
I have spent over 10,000 buying Medeco, Multi locks, surveilance
ADT just about everything you can imagine. I have bought just
about 6 or 7 Multi lock and even had them rekeyed still to
no avail. Today I went to home depot and bought enough stuff
to nail shut my doors and in my heart I know nothing will stop
him. This guy not only breaks into my apartment he listens
into my phone conversations I found traces of wiretapping on
my phone and I even think he is bugging my apartment because
he always seems to know what I am up to. I believe that
he breaks in everynight to set up some kind of bug or
camera equipment because he is always there and alway
know what
What country are you in? It sounds like you are being attacked by a group of Pikeys. In the UK where I live we have very soft laws so (IMHO) all of Europe’s riff-raff are coming here to commit crime. Of course we have plenty of home-grown riff-raff as well. You might be able to buy some big heavy safes – the kind weighing up to a ton are ideal. Sometimes these become redundant (for example garages no longer need safes for the MOT test certificates and official stamps as the test certificates are now done electronically. Travel agents no longer need to accept cash as payments can now be done with plastic) Such old safes are ideal for storing your laptop and cameras. CCTV is now becoming affordable and I put up a floodlight camera in my shed after a burglary. I stayed up late rigging it up as I had a feeling that the villains would be back. I got to bed at 3am in the small hours of Saturday, later in the day I saw that things had been messed with again and NINE HOURS after the camera went live I was looking at videos of the villain. Burglars are like rats, mice, woodworm as they get everywhere and just like other types of vermin they need to be dealt with. Once the police had the videos on CD the bloke was a marked man. Allegedly he was arrested at work and sacked on the spot (its not really a good idea to employ a thief in a shop as it might invalidate the insurance!) I did get some of my stolen goods returned but allegedly the #1 problem is a drug dealer in the town who holds parties for teens and twenties. Allegedly these young people pay for their drugs with stolen goods so the dealer is a bit like Fagin in the Charles Dickens novel. The “punishment” given to the 19 year old thief was a caution – a telling off! Incredible really as motorists get worse than that for a parking misdemeanour or an “iffy” tyre . The big trouble in Britain is that KNOWING who the bad guys are is not enough to bring a prosecution. One has to have PROOF. Camera resolution also needs to be adequate and although the QVGA floodlight-cam did a good job, better resolution would be desirable. Do not waste money on old analogue systems using worn out video tape as you will record hours of nothing happening. Digital with either PIR or motion detection is the way forward. Good luck
@Lawrence Vinson: What company do you work for? That sounds like a good thing.
They say that most burglaries are done during the day, that is not true. Most burglaries are done after dark usually after midnight. A smart burglar does their work at that time, their chances of getting caught are still as likely though. Most burglars either work alone or in a pair of two, and prefer to rob a house or building while its unoccupied.
Does your company test the Security systems to make sure they work and the homeowner is alert and aware?@Lawrence Vinson:
@Alan Golder: I’ve made my living burlarizing homes and small businesses for 17 years. Most of this stuff is probably effective, if you’re trying to deter a drug addict, a rookie, or a moron; in other words, the type who get popped for burglary.
There is someone who is getting in my house. It’s not like they take anything. But they leave signs that they have been there…like just to mess with me. In the beginning there were speaker wires and coaxial cables and small pieces of sheet rock sheet rock, pebble size in a lot of places. Then it was drug paraphernalia. One time I was working on putting a ping pong table together and left for an hour. When I came back there was a piece of chewed gum on it. Another time I came home and a shelf was off the wall. The contents at most weighed 3 pounds.. The shelf was under a large stuffed animal and wouldn’t have been there if it had fell. I was in the bathroom and there was a noise in the attic. It sounded like a cell phone vibrating on a table. Another time it sounded like sliding a drawer open. There are lots of sounds in the attic like people talking. The first time I went up there was a light and extension cord. I just went up again and there are 2 small flat spots in the blown in insulation..bout the size of 2 people that had laid down and the duct work is flattened. I can’t figure out how their getting in. The windows have chipping paint on the outside so if they were crawling in it would have been rubbed off. I’ve even found in one room where they took the artificial flowers and cut about a inch and a half of the wire stem and left it on the floor. Melted floss picks in 2 candles. There is so much more. It doesn’t do any good to call the cops here. Besides they would think that I am crazy or on a wild trip. With all this I feel that I am being spied on. I am sick of it. It has been going on for a while. If anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.
you alll know nothing about a burglar. its you never tell any 1 your secrets or how its done