Crime drives Americans crazy. More than 6.9 million property crimes occurred in the United States in 2019. An additional one million violent crimes occurred.
In particular, many Americans are concerned about business crimes. You should know how to protect your business from burglars. Understanding burglary statistics can help you figure out what to do.
But what exactly are the effects of burglary? How does burglary occur? What are some other crimes that you should be mindful of?
Answer these questions and you can protect your business from devastating crimes. Here are six statistics you should understand.
1. Burglary Causes Significant Losses
Retail shrink refers to the amount of money that businesses lose due to theft, fraud, and similar losses. Retail shrink totaled $61.7 billion in 2019. That’s an increase of more than $10 billion from the previous year.
Theft and burglaries account for roughly two-thirds of shrink every year. That means that they led to roughly $40 billion of losses in 2019.
There are no exact statistics of business burglary losses in the United States. But this figure suggests that burglary is an expensive and pressing problem for all businesses.
2. There Are Different Kinds of Burglary
There are a few different ways that burglars can steal from you. Shoplifting is non-violent. Someone may walk into your store, stuff a product into their bag, and walk off.
Some shoplifters work alone, while others work in teams. They can organize a burglary spree, waiting for a store to close and sneaking inside.
Employee theft is a separate problem. One of your workers may steal your products without you knowing about it. They may also tip off or assist burglars so they can steal from you.
Roughly 5.1 million acts of larceny-theft occurred in the United States in 2019. Larceny-theft occurs when someone steals property, while burglary occurs when someone enters a property to commit a crime. 22% of larceny-theft cases involved shoplifting, meaning that there were around one million shoplifting incidents that year.
This means that you have to prepare for multiple types of burglars. You have to install security cameras to track potential shoplifters. You also have to make your employees happy so they keep protecting your business and will not rob you.
3. Burglars Enter Buildings in Several Ways
Over 1.1 million burglaries occurred in the United States in 2019. The FBI distinguishes between robberies based on how burglars get into buildings.
More than half of burglaries involved forcible entry. The burglar may have committed breaking and entering, kicking down a door to get inside. They may have threatened someone with a weapon so they can go into a building.
But 37.8% of burglaries are unlawful yet non-forcible entries. The burglar walked through an open door or slipped in through a window.
You should secure your business with reinforced doors and windows. Yet you should track who enters and exits your property. You can put a security guard by the front door to check IDs and ask people to leave.
4. Burglary Statistics Are Trending Downward
The media may try to hype up a crime wave. Yet the rate of burglaries went down by 9.5% between 2018 and 2019.
FBI burglary stats for 2020 are not out yet. They may reveal that burglaries went up due to the pandemic. But the current information suggests that crime rates are declining across the country.
Keep in mind that local crime rates may be going up. Your area may be suffering from an economic downturn or a housing crisis. This can cause crime to spike, especially property crimes.
Follow the news and prepare some basic burglary protection measures. Be willing to adjust them if crime rates change.
5. There Are Other Kinds of Property Crime
Besides larceny-theft, there are other types of property crime besides burglary. More than 720,000 vehicles were stolen in 2019.
In particular, cars are a frequent target for thieves. Car dealerships and repair companies should be on high alert. Motorcycles and motor scooters are also popular, especially amongst younger burglars.
More than 33,000 arsons occurred in 2019. More than 40% of those arsons caused damage to structures, especially industrial and manufacturing buildings.
Arson can be more devastating than burglary. The average dollar loss for a burglary in 2019 was $2,661. The average loss for arson was $16,371.
You must be mindful of all potential property crimes. You should put locks on your company cars and park them in secure storage space.
You should remove flammable objects in and around your building. Maintain fire detectors that will summon the fire department when they go off.
6. Home Burglaries Occur More Often Than Retail Burglaries
62.8% of burglaries are burglaries of residential properties. Many burglars know that commercial spaces have firm security measures, including security guards. But homes are unoccupied for hours every day.
You should take some of your security measures home with you. You should install sturdy locks and firm doors in your house. You should move valuable objects into safes away from windows.
Do not talk about your home security measures to people at work. They may tip off burglars who can break into your house.
The Six Most Important Burglary Statistics
Burglary statistics let you draft a good safety plan. Businesses lost $40 billion to theft and fraud in 2019.
Shoplifting made up more than one-fifth of theft events. But employees can steal from you.
Less than half of burglaries involve breaking and entering. Statistics also show a downward trend of burglary. You should have employees near doors so non-forcible burglars cannot enter.
Motor vehicle theft and arson are becoming common. Residential burglary also occurs at very high rates.
Adopt a comprehensive security strategy that will deal with all threats. Read more security guides by following our coverage.
