residential burglary prevention

We've had crime on our minds for the past few days as we've been looking at houses for sale, because the price difference in homes on major streets is staggering. One home in particular on a very busy road, which is absolutely gorgeous, is listed for about 15% less than comparables. (Of course, it's also a pain that kids can't play out front and that it's a bit noisy.)

I've found "Problem-Oriented Guides for Police: Burglary of Single-Family Houses" (PDF) quite informative. Here's the outline of the "Target Selection" section:

• Familiarity with the target, and convenience of the location
  • Houses near a ready pool of offenders
  • Houses near major thoroughfares
  • Houses on the outskirts of neighborhoods
  • Houses previously burglarized/near previously burglarized homes
• Occupancy
  • Houses vacant for extended periods
  • Houses routinely vacant during the day
  • Houses of new residents
  • Houses without dogs/security alarms
• Visibility or surveillability
  • Houses with cover (trees, shrubs, privacy fences)
  • Houses that are secluded
  • Houses with poor lighting
  • Houses on corners
  • Houses with concealing architectural designs
• Accessibility
  • Houses easily entered through side or back doors
  • Houses next to alleys
• Vunerability
  • Houses with weakened entry points
  • Houses whose residents are careless about security
  • Houses with few or no security devices
• Potential rewards
  • Houses displaying signs of wealth

So 'Brozy's fears are confirmed. Unfortunate.

By the way, I'd recommend that those concerned about "houses with poor lighting" view the British Astronomical Association's "How-to install a 'security' floodlight" (Javascript-augmented; no <noscript> warning). It's a compelling demonstration of the danger of poorly-designed security lighting commented on by Bruce Schneier.