6 Out of 10 UK Home Burglary Victims Don’t Feel Safe in Their Homes

February 2, 2015

Six out of ten burglary victims don’t ever feel secure in their homes again, according to UIA Insurance research revealed last week.

Experts polled 1,000 home burglary victims found the trauma of a person breaking into their home has a long-lasting impact – the average victim takes seven months to return to some level of normality in their home.

A quarter of victims have had to move out after intruders broke into their home in order to feel safe again.

Commissioned by UIA Insurance to mark their 125th anniversary, the research revealed the emotional impact increases depending on what was taken – four in 10 lost sentimental items that were of little monetary value but ‘irreplaceable’ to them.

The study also found six in 10 said their home felt tainted or spoiled after the break-in.

Over a third said the event caused a huge knock to their confidence and a fifth struggled to be on their own after they had been broken into. More than half said being a home burglary victim left them angry for months after the event.

And closure is hard to get, with the burglars avoiding being caught or prosecuted in more than two thirds of the burglaries studied.

In fact, the emotional upset at being a victim of crime caused the most grief, while the pain experienced by the loss of sentimental items outweighed that of losing more practical goods.

The most commonly stolen items were jewelry, followed by electronic gadgets like mp3 players, cameras and games consoles.

Photos and family heirlooms proved the most distressing items to lose.

Over two thirds had items stolen they deemed ‘very expensive’ like televisions, laptops and even paintings or other valuables.

A quarter of people saw their property ‘trashed’ following the break in, with damage to windows and furniture or general vandalism inside their home common.

While a smashed window was the most common method of gaining entry by criminals, breaking a door was the second most likely.

Top 10 Most Commonly Stolen Items:

  1. Jewelry,
  2. Electronics,
  3. Laptops/computers,
  4. Televisions,
  5. Clothing,
  6. Ornaments,
  7. Alcohol,
  8. Furniture,
  9. Bicycles,
  10. Toys.

Top 10 ‘Most Valued’ Items Stolen:

  1. Family heirlooms,
  2. Family photographs,
  3. Jewelry,
  4. Money,
  5. Laptops/computers,
  6. Other electronics,
  7. Televisions,
  8. Cars,
  9. Clothing,
  10. Ornaments.

Source: UIA Insurance

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