You can feel it in the air.

There are certain times of the year that bring with them an uneasiness, and you find yourself watching your back, wondering if anyone is lurking in the shadows.

But once you’re in your house you’re safe, right? Uh uh.

Home robbery and housebreaking are among the “most frightening and dangerous crimes to experience”, if only because it totally violates our private space, suggests Business Tech.

This comes from a recent report released by Statistics South Africa, titled Exploring the extent of and circumstances surrounding housebreaking/burglary and home robbery.

Classy.

The good news is that over the past five years, these kinds of robberies have been on the decline – although the majority of South African’s don’t necessarily feel like that’s true.

So housebreakings and home robberies –  what’s the difference between the two?

Check it:

“Home robbery” is regarded as a violent crime because people are at home when it takes place, as compared to “housebreaking” (burglary), which occurs when the family is away from home. Home robbery fuels fear in communities, because it puts people at risk of personal injury and emotional trauma in their homes, where they should feel safest.

Over the period of the year, the two crimes’ most popular time of year fluctuates. Here are the stats:

The stats go further, recording the times of days that households experienced the crimes:

The most targeted items included electrical items, followed by jewellery, money and cellphones.

When it comes to convictions, however, things don’t look so bright:

[T]he rate of reporting home robberies to the police was significantly higher than that of housebreaking; possibly because home robbery tends to be accompanied with violence.

However, the rates for the arrest of the alleged offenders in housebreakings
and home robberies are not significantly different –both stand at just over 18%.

The conviction rate among those arrested was 14.3% for housebreaking and 22% for home robbery. Among those arrested for housebreaking, the case was still on going in 9.2% of the cases for housebreaking and 14.8% of the cases for home robbery.

An arrest is made in only one out of every five reported cases of housebreaking or home robbery. Only one in five people arrested for housebreaking was convicted, and one in three people arrested for home robbery was convicted.

It’s important to remember all this information, helping you decide when to go on holiday, plan security strategies for households, and any other decisions that put you or your house in jeopardy.

But at the end of the day, crime like this can be unpredictable so be on your guard at all times, take notice of any suspicious activity, and have emergency numbers on speed dial.

Be safe out there, kids, the danger is real.

[source:businesstech]