CRITICAL FACTS About House Robberies

Summary of presentation as given by Dr Rudolp Zinn

• ‘Robberies’ are distinct from ‘burglaries’ in that burglars avoid home occupants by targeting
houses when nobody is home; robbers target occupied houses; ambush residents upon arrival.
• The lecture facts covered below is based on extensive interviews with convicted robbers:
CRITICAL FACT (that robbers report) IMPLICATION (What this means to you)
Motivation (for attacking homes with occupants)
Less risk because alarms are “never armed” Is your alarm off when you’re home?
Easy access because a door or window is always open They’re probably right
Robbers want the things you carry with you – they
More lucrative – Wallet contents, cell phones/laptops/iPods,
won’t bother with breaking in when nobody’s home;
etc available when people are home so setting your alarm when out is meaningless
Owners are easily intimidate to open safe True? You’d be a fool to resist
This is, after all, one of the key motivations to target
The majority; 53%; intend to hi-jack the vehicle people when they’re home
How they target Victims
A fence and gate are a minimum… but… too much
25% of robbers target where there is low or inadequate security obvious security isn’t the answer either1
However: Houses where there is too much (obvious) security
Breaking in is a risk – so the reward might aw well be
are also targeted. Robbers assume that lots of obvious security enticing
means there is something valuable to be protected.
Some robbers are target social gatherings (braai, dinner
There isn’t, unfortunately, safety in numbers
party); because alarms are definitely deactivated.
Timing of Attacks
You may set your alarm when you sleep – but that
The majority; 57%; between 7pm and midnight isn’t your highest risk time!
Why evening (not during sleep hours)? They’re confident
Are they right? Do you set your alarm in the evening?
alarms will be off
Prefer residents to be awake and lights on – believe the noises You’re more targeted and vulnerable during waking
of a house cover their noises hours!
They’re very hard to catch – they don’t expect every
They pre-plan escape routes attack to work out perfectly – sometimes they plan to
learn and return.
Attitude toward Victims
97% are armed (generally guns), 83% will shoot if threatened,
Don’t gamble with an undetected intruder in your
100% will intimidate, 67% will assault, 30% have murdered space
before, 13% will rape, 13% will torture to find valuables
What do Robbers Fear/Deterrents
16% = alarms 84% don’t fear your alarm (because it will be off!)
84% don’t fear armed response – because, with no
16% = armed response warning, Armed Response can’t help you
The light comes on and they step into the shadows –
9% = security lights no problem
25% = dogs 75% ‘deal’ with dogs, quietly and easily
86% couldn’t be bothered by open spaces (where
14% = open view outsiders can see in)
A fence is the opposite of an open space – once the
20% = fences guy’s in, the fence protects him too!
100% are terrified of betrayal… of an early warning
CONCLUSION: An early warning is
reaching the owner so s/he can be prepared (armed,
the only weapon that can save you
call for backup, etc).