Overview
- The Office for National Statistics reports more than 166,000 home burglaries in England and Wales in 2024/2025, averaging 456 a day or one every 189 seconds.
- Former burglar Michael Fraser says offenders monitor public social posts, live holiday photos and check-ins to learn when properties are empty, with visible calendars also tipping off dates away.
- A recent police walk-through highlighted easy-to-spot weak points including dark entrances, unlocked windows, valuables in hallways, tools in unsecured sheds and single basic door locks.
- Homeowners are advised to tighten privacy settings, avoid real-time travel posts, keep identifiable backgrounds and metadata out of photos and upgrade lighting and locks.
- Surveillance specialists quoted in the coverage suggest pairing visible CCTV with covert cameras to preserve recordings if obvious devices are tampered with.