Many Australians do not take adequate home security measures when leaving their homes unattended.
As more home theft is opportunistic, people who leave their doors and windows unlocked, or hide their keys in obvious places, face a higher risk of burglary.
Holiday home security:
One in three Australian householders (28%) is apprehensive about going away on holidays, in case they are burgled
One in five (22%) believes a home security alarm is the effective measure to protect their home when they go away
One in 20 (5%) does not take any home security measures to protect their house when they go away on holiday
Home security statistics:
- One in ten Australian households has no home security measures in place, such as deadlocks, window locks, alarms, security bars or safes (9%)
- One-third of Australians (35%) admit they leave their front or back door open when they know they should not
- One-quarter (23%) fails to lock deadlocks around the home when they know they should, and the same proportion (23%) does not always lock window locks when they should
- Four in ten people who have a home security alarm installed said they sometimes go out without activating their home security alarm (42%)
- People who live in regional areas were less likely than their metropolitan counterparts to have any form of home security (16% versus 5% respectively)
- One in seven Australians leave their house keys in obvious places, such as under doormats or pot plants at home entrances (14%)
- More people (85%) believe a barking dog is a good deterrent to burglars
- Two-thirds of people have security doors on all entrances to their home (64%)
Contacting police:
- Four in ten people (40%) don’t investigate or alert the police when they hear a home alarm
- More home insurance customers (61%) did not seek a competitive quotation last time they renewed their home insurance policy
The home security statistics is provided by Signature Security Group.