Most normal people don’t spend their lives browsing and perusing official statistics for burglaries and break-in crimes, so most normal people might not understand how extremely common these crimes really are. Residential burglaries are extremely common, and in many ways it’s a crime that hides in plain sight – especially since the majority of burglaries happen during the daytime. Here’s a breakdown of the statistics of home burglaries – so that our valued customers here at Chicago Locksmiths can understand how often these crimes happen, and the importance of maintaining a strong framework of residential security.
National Burglary Statistics
In the year 2015, 1.6 million burglaries occurred. 72% of these burglaries happened to be residential break ins, meaning about 500,000 of the burglaries occur at a commercial location. Of the rest of the over-million burglaries, there was an uneven occurrence distribution. Northern and Western States had a somewhat lower number of burglaries based on their population sizes, while Southern states – most specifically Appalachian states, and the state of Texas, had the highest number of residential burglaries.
Lowest and Highest Burglary Numbers based on State
If you want to know which states have the largest amount of burglaries, look no further. The states with the higher chances of burglary on this list have break ins nearly 4 times larger than the states with the lowest risks of burglaries. All of these statistics are based on the year 2015; new studies are being conducted that will estimate the numbers for the year 2018.
The lowest amount of burglaries occurred in:
- New York
- New Hampshire
- Wyoming
- Connecticut
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- New Jersey
- Virginia
The highest number of burglaries occurred in:
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- Arkansas
- Louisiana
- North Carolina
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
Why do people commit burglaries?
- The majority of burglaries are crimes of opportunity – meaning that nearly 60% of them are not planned.
- Just a few burglaries are committed after long periods of planning and premeditation, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll see a potential burglar scoping out your home more than once.
- The majority of break-ins are committed due to a desire for money or valuables that can then be resold for drug money.
- Areas with higher levels of drug crimes have higher levels of burglary.
- Many thieves look immediately for cash, drugs, or jewelry rather than electronics, however electronics are still a highly at-risk item.
- Burglary trends are usually correlated with trends in poverty and heavy drug criminalization.
