My heart aches for the one in eight people so traumatised by a burglary that they move house, for they risk further emotional and financial pain.
New research from Churchill Insurance paints a terrible picture of the aftermath of burglaries. People feel violated and vulnerable in a place they should feel most safe. Many can’t sleep. Some lose confidence in themselves, and can’t bear to be alone in the property. Some take medicine.
A stranger has gone through their possessions, and they could have come face to face with them. Saying goodbye to sentimental items hurts more than the loss of expensive but replaceable stuff. Homes feel tainted or spoiled, especially if they were trashed.
But homeowners who move soon after a burglary are embarking on one of life’s most stressful events - buying and selling a home - maybe while still shell-shocked. Even worse, the burglary may have made their home worth less and harder to sell.
Keeping schtum about a burglary so the property is not stigmatised could land them in court. Laws on disclosure have been tougher since 2014 when property was covered by consumer protection rules. The caveat emptor principle has been eroded.
And moving costs are rising. Average bills, including estate agents’ fees, stamp duty, conveyancing and removal costs, are up to £10,996, from last year’s £10,126, says Lloyds Bank. Triple that in London. Staying put, improving home security and paying steeper insurance premiums can be cheaper than moving.
It’s easier said than done, but people who have been burgled, should try not to be a victim twice by ignoring any first instinct to move. Churchill reckons one in eight victims takes as long as six months before feeling ‘more or less’ normal. Sadly, 11 per cent say things never return to normal. Knowing their burglar is still at large - most burglars are not caught - makes it worse.
I suspect fewer people would flee their home if they at least felt the crime was being taken seriously by the police, and that the offence was being thoroughly investigated.
But increasingly cash-strapped forces are paying less attention to individual burglaries, partly since forensic teams retrieve little evidence from most homes. Ill-thought-out money-saving schemes shatter the public’s wavering confidence, like Leicestershire police’s experiment to not fully investigate attempted break-ins at odd-numbered houses. There have even been suggestions that burgled householders could email their own evidence to police instead of officers visiting their homes.
And while some victims may have had lax security, the growing tendency for police to blame victims is deplorable. Their job is to pursue criminals and protect citizens - not criticise them. It all adds up to a green light for crime. Cost-effective policing is usually second-best policing.
Those hoping that householders’ increased legal rights to protect their property would be a deterrent, might be disappointed. Separate supportive research for Churchill by forensic psychologist Dr Claire Nee at the University of Portsmouth found the change in the law had made little difference to two-thirds of burglars. They already did all they could to avoid householders when committing the crime.
A home doesn’t have to be burgled for the owner to be a victim. Once, burglary depressed average neighbourhood property prices less than muggings, or graffiti and vandalism. It was a so-called ‘hard to observe’ crime. But now prospective buyers can see crime maps online.
Burglary statistics are up there along with school and hospital performance tables, as key influencers of local property prices. When owners who can afford to sell, do, local property prices can fall further - and we are talking about people’s biggest investment.
Neighbourhood watches, the eyes and ears of undermanned police, can improve the reputation of blighted areas, though it takes years. Joining or helping form a watch scheme can also help individual victims of burglary regain some confidence.These days, neighbourhood watches even help fight phone and online scams. The downside, of course, is that volunteers can become vigilantes.
As it is, the only way for some people to regain a feeling of comfort and security after a burglary is a new home. Ideally they, like all buyers, should concentrate not on what they are running from, but what they are heading to.
Every property purchase is a compromise. All homes have snags. If we spotted them all before buying, some of us would never be property owners. But buyers should make sure the pluses outweigh the minuses.
I used to love the BBC’s property show To Buy or Not to Buy, which allowed buyers to live in their chosen home before making an offer. Often, realising the property’s shortcomings, they declined to bid.
While buyers can’t road-test a home in real life, they should do so in their head. They should imagine waking up there, having breakfast, leaving the house, coming home, watching television, going to bed.
And they should visit at different times. I once had a lucky escape by travelling to a flat after dark that had seemed perfect in daytime. To get home from the station I would have had to pass by some very sinister-looking folk every night!
In the absence of seeing intruders caught, one way for victims to move on after a burglary is to have a home safer and nicer than their old home used to be.