The crime rate in Waukesha, WI, is actually forty-three percent lower than the national average. But, that still leaves you with a one in sixty-three chance of being a victim of crime. One of the most common forms of crime in Waukesha is burglary. The town is just full of charming houses waiting to be picked clean by greedy opportunists.
While it’s impossible to guarantee that your home will never be burgled, there are several things that you can do to make it far less likely that you’ll come home to find the door ajar and your TV missing:
- Get a security system. Even a simple one. The sticker alone will scare off most burglars.
- Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house. One in three burglaries involves an unlocked entrance to the home.
- Let your neighbors know when you’re going to be out of town or away for awhile.
- If you hope to catch a burglar, a surveillance system is your best bet. Most burglaries go unsolved, but catching them on camera can help.
- Know what robbers are after. It’s not just silverware and flatscreen tvs. Burglars love medication and liquor which are easy to sell off or enjoy recreationally, and there’s a thriving black market for credit card information. Keep this stuff somewhere safe if you don’t want to lose it.
- Know the peak burglary hours: 10 am to 3 pm. Not nighttime, as many believe. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. A broken window in the night will wake the whole neighborhood. But around noon, everyone’s at work, and you can pull up with a U-Haul to clear out someone’s home without a single witness.
- Simply hiding your valuables can help. Most burglars are in and out in under ten minutes, grabbing armfuls of whatever they can snatch. They’re not going to have time to go checking in every drawer and closet and under the floorboards for your credit card statements.
I Did All That And I Still Got Burgled, Now What?
It happens. No matter how careful you are, you can still wind up victim to a burglar. Here’s what you’ll need to know to handle a burglary properly.
- Keep your home inventory up to date with photos and receipts, and make sure your insurer knows what they’ll need to cover.
- Consider the emotional damages of a burglary, not just the material damages. You can feel unsafe and violated following a burglary, and there’s no shame in reaching out for help to a support group, a therapist, or just a trusted friend or family member. Don’t neglect self-care after a traumatic experience.
- Consider replacement cost coverage over actual cash value. The actual cash value might not always cover the total cost to replace what was stolen.
- Cooperate with the police, but don’t expect any miracles. Most burglaries go unsolved, so you’re better off just focusing on yourself for now and let the police do their job.
All things considered, burglary isn’t the worst crime to fall prey to…, but it still sucks. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t think you’re any weaker because you let it get to you. Unless you’re a person with no sense of danger, it’s going to get to you, and there’s no shame in that.
