British holidaymakers could be leaving their doors open to burglars

As the summer holidays get under way, research conducted by YouGov for security provider RISCO shows that householders are leaving their homes open to burglars.

The survey of 4,237 British adults found that less than a third (32%) have a burglar alarm in their home and, of these, less than half (49%) actually set it every time they go on holiday.

Of those Britons that rarely or never set their burglar alarm, 1 in 5 admit to forgetting to switch it on, while for 13% of householders it’s because they fear getting false alarms. The same amount (13%) rarely or never set their alarm because they find it too complicated.

“British householders could face more than a bad case of sunburn when they return home from holiday this summer”, said Steve Riley, Commercial Director at RISCO Group UK.  “There were an estimated 800,000 domestic burglaries in 2014/2015, resulting in an average loss per incident of £2,267 and damage costing £892.”

“We are urging those that have an alarm to make sure it is working and switched on when they close the front door and head off on holiday this summer,” said Riley.

Domestic burglaries don’t just have a financial impact on victims.  According to the 2015 Crime Survey for England and Wales, some 80% of those who experience a domestic burglary say they are emotionally affected by the incident, with around one in four having difficulty sleeping after a burglary.

Householders should also be aware that not switching their burglar alarm on can affect their home insurance, potentially leaving them without cover in the event of a burglary.

One simple solution to forgetting to turn on an alarm is to choose one of the smartphone-operated burglar alarms now available.  An alarm system like RISCO’s SmartAlarm can be operated from a smartphone app, which allows householders to set and unset their alarm remotely.  Forgetting to set an alarm is easily remedied with a few swipes on a smartphone screen.

Alerts are automatically sent to a householder’s phone if the alarm is triggered, while users can even watch live images of their home on their smartphone if video cameras are attached to their alarm system.

Further information on the survey is available at: http://www.causeforalarm.co.uk/