The Daily Mail drew our attention to new research by the Liverpool Victoria which shows that you are most at risk of house burglary during November.

House Burglary Data Request

Using a freedom of information request, LV asked all 51 police forces in the UK about

• the number of burglaries in their area in the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
• the number of domestic break-ins according to property type,
• the month with the highest domestic burglaries
• the time when most incidents take place
• how many occurred whilst the victim was at home and
• how many victims came face to face with their intruder.

With data returned from 20 police forces, they discovered that 9.5% of the 227,280 domestic burglaries between April 2012 and March 2013 took place in November. That works out at one break-in every two minutes!

Kent Statistics Agree

The latest burglary data reveals that this trend for a rise in November is continuing. From October to November 2014 burglary cases in Kent went up by 10% and continued at a similar rate through to January.

As the nights draw in and daylight hours reduce, burglars have a longer window of opportunity to rob your home.

Of course, this all depends on how easy your property is for the burglar to access.

The data from 12 police forces also showed that flats on the ground floor or in the basement of a block are 48% more likely to be burgled. Whilst upper floor flats and semi-detached houses are least likely.

Interesting stats about the timing of a house burglary

Data returned by 15 Police forces showed that 31% of burglaries take place between 11am and 5pm. Which means a massive 69% take place between the darker evening and early morning hours.

7% are committed in the hour between midnight and 1am. Though surprisingly, you are safest between 6am and 7am with only 1% occurring then.

As reported in our post on UK burglary stats, burglary rates are falling across the UK.

Having said that, Kent Police saw an 11% increase. And, more worryingly, Thames Valley Police reported that 30% of their 7579 burglaries occurred whilst the victim was at home.

Why is November the worst month for House Burglary?

Many have put forward the fact that the clocks go back at the end of October and so the nights are longer.

What gets stolen in a flat or house burglary?

Victims say that the most common item to be taken - 41% - was electrical, like laptops and cameras with mobile phones and tablets at 11%.

33% of will be cash and 31% jewellery.

Only one in 6 will see their stolen goods again.  Where they are successfully reunited, it could be returned by the police but, in some cases, the victims have also been able to buy their own property back through a local pawn shop.

We heard one tale where the police followed a trail of polystyrene balls - the filling to a bean bag stolen from the home.

They led to the front room of a well known burglar. Sadly, whilst the beanbag was recovered, the valuables were long gone.

The data revealed that the cost of replacement and repair of damage averages out at around £1730.

If you're concerned about your home security, an intruder alarm has been recognised as a proven deterrent.

At this time of year, it is also a good idea to get your security systems serviced

Free Security Surveys Across Kent

Spy Alarms are offering  free surveys to home-owners, so they can maximise their security, keeping their family and property protected.