1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bogelbaum. Here, when you picture a burglar, 3 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: who do you see? The black clad clip art guy 4 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: with the tiny mask and a bulging bag of loot, 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: or maybe the pair from the Home Alone movies casing 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: a wealthy suburban neighborhood to know exactly when families are 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: gone for Christmas vacation. The reality of burglary and burglars 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: is very different than most of us think for starters. 9 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 1: According to FBI statistics, the majority of residential burglaries happened 10 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: during the day, not at night under the cover of darkness, 11 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: and according to interviews with convicted burglars, only a third 12 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: of all break ins are planned ahead of time, rather 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,919 Speaker 1: than being professional thieves. The typical profile of a burglar 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: is a seventeen year old kid who's looking to quickly 15 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: grab something valuable and scram But we spoke with Marcus Filson, 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: a professor of criminal justice at Texas State University and 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: a pioneering expert in the nature of criminal activities. He 18 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: said burglaries are fast, typically over within five minutes and 19 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: often within one minute. A lot of the time, the 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 1: door isn't even locked. If they come in and rummage, 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,119 Speaker 1: they rummage quickly and get out of there. By better 22 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: understanding when, why and how residential burglaries happen, homeowners can 23 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: come up with the most effective strategies for deterring them, 24 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: which brings us to the question of the day. Do 25 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: house or porch lights do anything to stop burglars? Pilson 26 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: says that lights have their place in a home security strategy, 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: but that lights alone won't prevent someone from breaking into 28 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: your house. For example, motion activated exterior lights in the 29 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: front and rear of your house are an effective way 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: to spook a burglar, but only if the light is 31 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: positioned correctly to illuminate the intruder's face so that a 32 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: neighbor or camera might be able to see them clearly. 33 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: If it's pointed towards the neighbor's house, the burglar might 34 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: realize that all the neighbor would be able to see 35 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: as a blinding light and not the burglar. What about 36 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: timed interior lights. Home automation systems have made it easier 37 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: than ever to schedule and control your interior lights while 38 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 1: you're away. They let you use your smartphone to program 39 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: your living room, kitchen and bedroom lights to mimic what 40 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,239 Speaker 1: it would look like if you were home again. While 41 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: automated lighting might give the impression that someone is home, 42 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: especially in the evening when lights can be seen from 43 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: the street, thieves know to look out for other much 44 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: clearer signs that you're gone during the day. According to 45 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: interviews with convicted burglars in Australia and the United Kingdom, 46 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: opportunistic thieves look for uncollected mail, newspapers and packages left 47 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: on the porch, and empty driveways and garages. An Oregon 48 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,399 Speaker 1: TV news team that surveyed convicted burglars found that all 49 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: of their respondents would knock on the front door before 50 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: breaking in, so those tricky interior lights might not help. 51 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: And if you think you're being smart by leaving a 52 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: TV or radio on in the house while you're away 53 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: on vacation, think again. Burglars in the Australian survey said 54 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: that a TV blasting away in the middle of the 55 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: night is a shore side mine that no one's home, 56 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: which gets to Felson's biggest piece of advice for securing 57 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: your home, get to know your neighbors. In that Australian study, 58 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: just two eight percent of burglars were deterred by censor 59 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: lights and nineteen point three percent by lights inside the house. 60 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: But a burglar can be stopped if a neighbor picks 61 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: up the phone and calls the police. Of course, this 62 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: means your neighbors need to know you and your family 63 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: well enough to identify a true stranger trying to enter 64 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: your house. Felson recommends introducing yourself to the neighbors on 65 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: all sides of your house, particularly the ones that live 66 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: behind you, since burglars will most likely enter from a 67 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: back door or window, and to make it easier for 68 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: your neighbors to see your house, you might trim back 69 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: your hedges from doors and windows. They can't report what 70 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: they can't see. Recognizing that most burglaries happen between ten 71 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: am and two pm, when a lot of people are 72 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: away at work, your best neighborhood allies against a burglary 73 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: are folks who are home most of the day, people 74 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: who are retired, work from home, or work lay their shifts. 75 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: Those same neighbors can pick up your mail and packages 76 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: while you're gone on vacation, or even parked their car 77 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: in your driveway as a decoy. Again, exterior and interior 78 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: lights can work as a part of an integrated home 79 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: security strategy that should also include strong locks on all 80 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: doors and windows and not leaving valuables in plain view. 81 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by 82 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart 83 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: Radio's How Stuff Works. For more in this and lots 84 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works 85 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: dot com, and for more podcasts from my heart Radio, 86 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 87 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.