Burglary every 15 seconds?

[Mainsail]

Tonight I saw an ADT commercial, you know the ones, where some unarmed person or family describes a frightening burglary and the effect it had on them. Then they tell you how safe they feel now that they have an ADT security system installed in their home. Now, I’m not interested in discussing that part of the commercial, but what they claim about burglaries.

According to their ad, there is a burglary every 15 seconds.

OK, whipping out the calculator, I see there are 86,400 seconds in one day. Dividing by 15, that would mean there are 5760 burglaries each day, or 40,320 a week. If I multiply that by 52, the number of weeks in a year, that means (according to them) there are 2,096,640 burglaries a year. I did some googling and there are others making the same 15 seconds claim. It seems like a lot, but I haven’t read anyone’s definition of what, exactly, a burglary is.

Why do I think I should be sitting here with my Mossberg 590A1?

 

[paper warrior]

Why do I think I should be sitting here with my Mossberg 590A1?

Because ADT calls the police for you. Thats all. ADT won't stop a burglar from killing you if they want to, the police might get there in time to, if your next door to the station. Your 590A1, with proper use, will though. Best thing to do is get all your stuff insured, then if your house gets robbed, let the burglar take the stuff and get away. the Mossy is only for shooting when your life is in immediate danger.

 

[sm]

See your local Mom&Pop Alarm, Safe, Locksmith persons.

If one really has to have cute sign - go to Kinkos and have one made...


I have been asked to be present when ADT shows up for other folks.
Especially Elderly.

They come in, and have done the research for burglaries in one's Zip Code.
They have a "sensationalized sell" , they target the presentation to elderly, widowed, single gals, single parent families, some young fella...whatever, they have a "angle".

I mean play all the cards on : "folks just like you have been victims" ,and "folks just like you are safe because they had ADT".
BS!


Mom was contacted, I had to be there when he showed up.
I was ready, with my research on crimes in her zip code, with Alarm Systems types I am familiar with and...

"Oh tell mom how you guys are out of state, and when the alarm goes off , signal travels through her phone line down to you guy out of state, and then you guys call back up here to the Police , and Fire...say do you want the phone number of the Fire Station just down the road...?".

He packed up and left.
In fact same guy was scheduled to visit another couple I know, he just sighed, and went on upon seeing me.

If were a BG, I want to target a house with a ADT sign in the front yard.
What a load of BS!
Yeah, I know something, and no I won't say what.
Public Forum remember!

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

If I multiply that by 52, the number of weeks in a year, that means (according to them) there are 2,096,640 burglaries a year.

That's about right, nationally:
Year - - - Burglaries
2000 - - - 2,050,992
2001 - - - 2,116,531
2002 - - - 2,151,252
2003 - - - 2,154,834
2004 - - - 2,144,446
2005 - - - 2,155,448
2006 - - - 2,183,746

Source.

but I haven’t read anyone’s definition of what, exactly, a burglary is.

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines burglary as the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. To classify an offense as a burglary, the use of force to gain entry need not have occurred. The Program has three subclassifications for burglary: forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry. The UCR definition of “structure” includes, for example, apartment, barn, house trailer or houseboat when used as a permanent dwelling, office, railroad car (but not automobile), stable, and vessel (i.e., ship). Source.

The every 15 seconds might be true if they were evenly distributed, but they aren't. But the total number is in the ballpark of the FBI's numbers.

 

[Jeff White]

This is how the state of Illinois defines Burglary:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilc...eqEnd=46800000&ActName=Criminal+Code+of+1961.

(720 ILCS 5/Art. 19 heading)
ARTICLE 19. BURGLARY

(720 ILCS 5/19‑1) (from Ch. 38, par. 19‑1)
Sec. 19‑1. Burglary.
(a) A person commits burglary when without authority he knowingly enters or without authority remains within a building, housetrailer, watercraft, aircraft, motor vehicle as defined in the Illinois Vehicle Code, railroad car, or any part thereof, with intent to commit therein a felony or theft. This offense shall not include the offenses set out in Section 4‑102 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
(b) Sentence.
Burglary is a Class 2 felony. A burglary committed in a school or place of worship is a Class 1 felony.
(Source: P.A. 91‑360, eff. 7‑29‑99; 91‑928, eff. 6‑1‑01.)

Burglary is defined this way by the FBI for the purpose of the Unirofm Crime Report:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/offenses/property_crime/burglary.html

Definition

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program defines burglary as the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. To classify an offense as a burglary, the use of force to gain entry need not have occurred. The Program has three subclassifications for burglary: forcible entry, unlawful entry where no force is used, and attempted forcible entry. The UCR definition of “structure” includes, for example, apartment, barn, house trailer or houseboat when used as a permanent dwelling, office, railroad car (but not automobile), stable, and vessel (i.e., ship).

As you can see, the definitions are similar. Here is the synopsis of the 2006 UCR data for Burglary:

Overview

* In 2006, there were an estimated 2,183,746 burglary offenses—an increase of 1.3 percent when compared with 2005 data.
* An examination of 5- and 10-year trends revealed an increase of 1.5 percent in the number of burglaries when compared with the 2002 estimate and a decline of 11.2 percent when compared with the 1997 estimate. (See Tables 1 and 1A.)
* Burglary accounted for 21.9 percent of the estimated number of property crimes committed in 2006. (Based on Table 1.)
* In 2006, burglary offenses cost victims an estimated $4 billion in lost property. (Based on Tables 1 and 23.)
* The average dollar loss per burglary offense in 2006 was $1,834.
* Of the burglary offenses in 2006, 66.2 percent were of residential structures. (See Table 23.)
* Of the burglaries for which the time of occurrence was known, 63.1 percent of residential burglaries took place during the day.
* Among burglaries of nonresidential structures when time of occurrence was known, 56.7 percent occurred at night. (Based on Table 23.)

Your figures are a bit below what the FBI estimates. You have to remember the UCR is an estimate. Not every agency reports and there is no check on what an agency reports. And then there is the fact that not every burglary is reported to the police. So based on that, I'd have to say that the ADT commercial has it's number right, although I question the every 15 seconds part. According the the UCR 63.1% of residential burglaries (that the time of the burglary was known) occurred during the day. So it would seem that the time between burglaries would not be a national average of 15 seconds.

Why do I think I should be sitting here with my Mossberg 590A1?

Because you are letting the ads from the security company scare you. They are having their desired effect, ADT has gotten their money's worth from the ad. A burglary is most likely to occur when no one is around. That's one of the reasons why there is a large number of reported burglaries that just have no estimated time they occurred. Most burglars want nothing to do with an occupied residence.

Your best defense, good doors and locks, good windows and locks, exterior lighting, neighbors who watch out for each other, alarm systems. Your Mossberg is much more likely to be stolen in a burglary then to be used to defend yourself against one. The burglar would rather not meet you and your Mossberg, but he'd like to meet your Mossberg while you weren't home to properly introduce him to it.

ADT and the other companies advertise the home invasion scenario because it's much more dramatic and likely to make you buy their services then if they showed someone breaking in to a residence where no one was at home and the ADT operator calling the police and the officer arriving in time to take photos of the place where the burglar gained entry.....

Jeff

 

[Zoogster]

Because ADT calls the police for you. Thats all. ADT won't stop a burglar from killing you if they want to, the police might get there in time to, if your next door to the station.

Actualy it is even worse than that in CA.
Supposedly police were spending a very large percentage of thier time checking up on false alarms from home security systems. Well a policy went into place that police no longer will respond to an alarm unless there is verification from an individual on the other end that something is indeed wrong.

This means if the alarm goes off, the alarm company must call the home and speak with someone in the home prior to a police response.
If the alarm goes off and they call and get no response then nobody will be sent to check on the home.

Basicly this means alarm systems do almost nothing to provide you with assistance.
An alarm for alerting you you is better than an alarm to alert someone else.
At least here in CA you still will have to actualy get to a phone anyways, which means you could have called the police yourself. If you are tied up or busy with an intruder and cannot get to the phone, or not home, nobody is coming.

Those really loud alarms that make the entire neighborhood notice the house? Well they might help you get some witnesses at least. However with a false alarm it might also get you fined for disturbing the peace and noise violations after certain hours. If you or any neighbors have them go off accidentaly or falsely people will start tuning them out and they won't even accomplish making people look, much as a car alarm in a parking lot hardly gets a glance anymore.

One thing installing an alarm system can accomplish for the average naive individual is making them think more about weak points in the home, entry points, and security in general. While the alarm itself might cost more and do less than electronics you could install yourself for a fraction of the cost, it might make them address those concerns.
At the same time it might make them feel content that they are magicly shielded by some bubble of protection and they will leave themselves even more vulnerable when some criminal does not notice thier make believe bubble.

 

[Mainsail]

OK, I just thought the number sounded kind of high. I guess they did some market research and decided that ‘a burglary every 15 seconds’ sounded scarier than ‘four burglaries every minute’.

My comment about the 590A1 had more to do with some article I read when I googled the 15 second thing. It talked about the number of home invasion robberies, IOW, the people were at home when the burglars came knocking.

 

[macFarlaine]

I am suprised you have so many burglaries,they must be brave or plain stupid with so many firearm owners about.

 

[Jeff White]

Home Invasion is a serious crime:

(720 ILCS 5/12‑11) (from Ch. 38, par. 12‑11)
Sec. 12‑11. Home Invasion.
(a) A person who is not a peace officer acting in the line of duty commits home invasion when without authority he or she knowingly enters the dwelling place of another when he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present or he or she knowingly enters the dwelling place of another and remains in such dwelling place until he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present and
(1) While armed with a dangerous weapon, other than

a firearm, uses force or threatens the imminent use of force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs, or
(2) Intentionally causes any injury, except as

provided in subsection (a)(5), to any person or persons within such dwelling place, or
(3) While armed with a firearm uses force or

threatens the imminent use of force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs, or
(4) Uses force or threatens the imminent use of

force upon any person or persons within such dwelling place whether or not injury occurs and during the commission of the offense personally discharges a firearm, or
(5) Personally discharges a firearm that proximately

causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or death to another person within such dwelling place, or
(6) Commits, against any person or persons within

that dwelling place, a violation of Section 12‑13, 12‑14, 12‑14.1, 12‑15, or 12‑16 of the Criminal Code of 1961.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of home invasion that the accused who knowingly enters the dwelling place of another and remains in such dwelling place until he or she knows or has reason to know that one or more persons is present either immediately leaves such premises or surrenders to the person or persons lawfully present therein without either attempting to cause or causing serious bodily injury to any person present therein.
(c) Sentence. Home invasion in violation of subsection (a)(1), (a)(2) or (a)(6) is a Class X felony. A violation of subsection (a)(3) is a Class X felony for which 15 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A violation of subsection (a)(4) is a Class X felony for which 20 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A violation of subsection (a)(5) is a Class X felony for which 25 years or up to a term of natural life shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court.
(d) For purposes of this Section, "dwelling place of another" includes a dwelling place where the defendant maintains a tenancy interest but from which the defendant has been barred by a divorce decree, judgment of dissolution of marriage, order of protection, or other court order.
(Source: P.A. 90‑787, eff. 8‑14‑98; 91‑404, eff. 1‑1‑00; 91‑928, eff. 6‑1‑01.)

Most states have similar laws, home invasion is rightfully taken very seriously. A home invasion is much rarer then a burglary. One reason is that you are almost sure to confront the resident who may be armed. Another reason is that you will do very serious time if you are caught. The last reason is that the police will put a lot of resources into catching home invaders.

While home invasion robberies do occur, the majority of them are drug dealers ripping off other drug dealers, or people with a grudge against the residents breaking down the door to do them harm, for whatever reason, real or perceived slight, romantic triangle.......The other category is a professional criminal crew who will occasionally do a home invasion robbery when they know that there is a large amount of cash, jewelry or other valuables in the house and physical security measures make this the most viable way to get them. If you don't deal drugs or hang out with people who do or otherwise live a criminal lifestyle, or live where people who did those things used to live, if you don't have large amounts of cash, jewelry or other valuables in your house and let other people know you have them, your chances of someone breaking down your door are pretty slim.

Now I know someone will chime in any second with, I just read about a home invasion in the paper last week. You need to look at what the news article doesn't say, before you assume that the people who were victims of a home invasion were just like you. Think about what part of town it occurred in before you panic. Think about what you really know about the lifestyle of the victims.

I also see thing like I heard at the gun shop that there was a string of home invasions in such and such a neighborhood, but the police are keeping it out of the media. Before you panic and start making the family lose sleep standing watch, think about how hard it would be to keep something like that out of the news. Those are big stories. Often the wire service picks them up and they become regional or even national stories. That should be another clue about how infrequent they are, they are big news when they happen. How many burglaries become regional or national news stories? Those stories are just like the ADT commercial that started this thread. They play to a fear that everyone has.

If you have good locks and doors and windows, exterior lighting and alarm system, you're also doing about everything you can reasonably do to defend yourself against a home invasion. Those things do double duty. There is no need for most of us to stack magazines and straighten the pin on our grenades, and lose sleep standing watch every time we are in our home. The threat level for that just isn't there.

Jeff

 

[SomeKid]

I think Jeff has a good point. Remember the invasion up in Connecticut, or whatever yankee state it was they raped and murdered 3 women?

One thing I wondered though...

A person who is not a peace officer acting in the line of duty

Does that ever get narrowed down? I can see horrible room for abuse there.

 

[stevemis]

If one really has to have cute sign - go to Kinkos and have one made...

From a friend of mine's place (retired LEO)... circa 1992:

"If you must enter these premises illegally, please remove your dentures. Our dobermans find them difficult to digest."