Property Crime Rates Declining in the US: Help Continue the Trend
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While violent crime rates are holding steady or even increasing, in the last several decades, the occurrence of property crimes is decreasing. Property crimes include burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft. In 1980 there was a total of 12,064,000 property crimes nationwide, according the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2007, this number was done around 25 to 9,843,000. The incidence of burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft were all lower. One of the likely causes of this positive trend is the advancement of home security systems. Thirty years ago these devices were much less common, now the majority of new homes built have some sort of security system. With communication technology that immediately notifies the security company and local law enforcement, homes armed with a security system are much less likely to be attacked. Many studies have shown that just the presence of a security sticker on a window or a sign in the yard is enough to send an unwanted guest on to another house. The best way to protect your home from an intruder is with a security system, but there are additional things you can do to deter burglars. Never leave anything valuable outside or within view of an intruder. Tool boxes, purses laying on a kitchen counter, or bikes in an open garage are all very appealing sites to a thief. Make sure to keep your garage door closed at night and when you are not at home, because this is a place from which items are often stolen and many alarm systems do not cover a garage area. Also make sure that you don’t let trees and shrubbery grow to high over your windows as this can provide a burglar with cover and protection. A house that is very visible, inside and out, to passersby is least likely to be robbed.