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Household burglary

Household burglary is one of the most widespread crimes in Australia – with around 335,700 break-ins recorded in 2009-10. Money is most commonly stolen (19 per cent) followed by jewellery (18 per cent), with other items such as firearms also taken from homes. Australians are wary of this crime with around 36 per cent believing their house is likely to be burgled in the forthcoming year. Steps can be taken to prevent homes from being burgled using a range of practical burglary prevention guides available on this webpage.

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Burglary and property crime reduction programs

• Targeting burglary : ACT Policing's Operation Halite (PDF 228kB)
  AFP Platypus magazine, 2005
• Evaluating police operations (1): A process and outcome evaluation of Operation Vendas (PDF 609kB)
  Craig Jones and Don Weatherburn, New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2004
• Lightning strikes twice : preventing repeat home burglary (PDF 381kB)
  Queensland Criminal Justice Commission and Attorney-General's Department, 2001
• Operation and crime review panels : their impact on break and enter (PDF 684kB)
  Marilyn Chilvers and Don Weatherburn, 2001

Practical prevention guides

Resources for home residents

• Burglar beware
  Western Australia Office of Crime Prevention and Western Australia Police Service
• Home safety and security advice
  Neighbourhood Watch Victoria
• Lock burglars out! (PDF 705kB)
  National Crime Prevention. Brochure containing general guidelines for increasing security at home.
• Burglary and break-ins : prevention tips
  NRMA
• A kit for protecting your home from intruders (PDF 1.08MB)
  National Crime Prevention. Includes information for victims of home burglaries; guidelines for increasing home and vehicle security, maintaining a property inventory and insuring property; and a home safety-audit checklist
• Home and street safety kit
  Canterbury City Council, New South Wales
• Operation Identification
  Northern Territory Neighbourhood Watch
• Property identification
  Queensland Police Service
• ACT home safety and security handbook
• http://www.police.act.gov.au/community-safety/for-act-households/safety-at-home.aspx#Howtoreducetheriskofburglary
  ACT Policing
• Keep it safe. Keep it hidden. Keep it locked (PDF 1.05MB)
  Home Office (UK). 16-page leaflet contains simple tips to protect against robbery, burglary and vehicle crime.

Resources for practitioners

• Domestic burglary toolkit
  Crime Reduction (UK)
• Burglary of single family houses
  Deborah Lamm Weisel, Center for Problem-Oriented Policing (US)

Recent publications

• Firearm theft in Australia 2008–09
  31 October 2011
• Strategies for preventing scrap metal theft
  03 June 2011
• Firearm theft in Australia 2007-08
  12 January 2010
• Burglary: prevalence in Australia and overseas
  24 June 2008
• The trade in stolen antiquities
  26 November 2002
• Burglary reduction and the myth of displacement
  04 July 2002
• Police strategies lead to reduced burglary rate in ACT
  18 December 2001

Recent events