Former Robbers Share Tactics to Deter Break-Ins

Crime Prevention Techniques to Deter the Offender

The year when the phase of crime drastically changed—2024 may be remembered as such.

What plunged the islands into the depths of fear this summer was the series of indiscriminate robberies in the metropolitan area. In these violent crimes, the perpetrators break into homes late at night, assaulting the inhabitants and stealing valuables. The troubling part is that the criminals don’t carefully analyze the wealth of the targeted households; they choose their victims indiscriminately (a reporter from a national newspaper’s social department).

In an abnormal situation where anyone could become a victim, how can people prepare? FRIDAY reached out to former robbers to understand the psychology and habits of criminals and to learn crime prevention techniques that can deter the crime.

A former leader of a robbery group, Mr. A, shares his insight.

“In order to decide whether to break into a home, you need some basic information. Even though it may seem like they are attacking randomly, they always conduct at least a preliminary investigation. This means that homes with little information visible from the outside are harder to target.”

What specific points should people pay attention to? Mr. A continues:

“If the family names of all the members are listed on the nameplate, it’s like you’re telling the criminals about your family structure. It’s better to just put the family surname, or at least minimize the information on the nameplate. Clothes drying outside are also a bundle of information. It’s easy to tell if only elderly people live in the house. Drying clothes in places that aren’t easily visible from outside makes it harder to figure out the family structure during a preliminary investigation. Nowadays, there are security cameras everywhere in convenience stores and streets, so criminals don’t want to carry out repeated investigations. It’s important to make them think, ‘I can’t gather enough information from just a few observations.'”

However, it’s also not good to block off the view from outside entirely by using high fences or shrubs in an attempt to avoid giving criminals any information. Mr. B, who used to be part of a semi-gang group and used robbery as one of his illicit activities, says:

“If it’s hard to see from outside, once someone gets onto your property, they’re less likely to be noticed by the neighbors. That makes it easier to target. On the other hand, I don’t like houses where the fences or shrubs are low and everything is exposed to view.”

There are other factors that criminals pay attention to when deciding where to enter. Mr. A further explains:

“Older houses often have a backdoor. Besides the front door and windows, they provide an additional entry point. If you live in a house with a backdoor, it’s good to place obstacles like potted plants along the way to the backdoor. Blocking the entry route is a hassle for robbers. It’s also good to put bars or shutters on the windows to limit the entry points. If even the small windows have bars, criminals will have a harder time finding a way in.”

 

Time-wasting is more than 5 minutes.

In recent cases, perpetrators have been threatened with the lives of their family members, with instructions such as “If you run away from the scene, we will kill your family.” C, a coordinator in a criminal group, whispers:

“For the coordinator, it doesn’t matter if the perpetrator is caught. They just want the perpetrator to rush into the target’s home. So if you don’t want to become a victim, you need to set up traps that make the perpetrator hesitate or be scared.”

What kind of traps can make the perpetrators hesitate? B, a former gang member, points out something surprising:

“A house with a sticker from the Japan Police Dog Association or a ‘Beware of Dangerous Dogs’ sign will make the intruder hesitate before entering. Also, a house with a security company’s logo can give the impression that it will cause trouble if I break in.”

According to statistics from the Urban Crime Prevention Research Center, if it takes more than five minutes for an intruder to break into a house, 70% of perpetrators give up.

“The more locks on the doors and windows, the more troublesome it is. Naturally, if there’s only one lock, it’s easier to break in, but with two or three locks, it takes longer to get through,” says the expert.

These days, additional locks that don’t require large-scale installation, or smart locks that can be operated with a smartphone and cost only a few thousand yen, are available at home improvement stores. It may be worth considering purchasing them for added security.

There is also a system that former burglars universally dislike. They say that houses with security cameras or motion sensor lights installed will make intruders hesitate.

“Recent security cameras have better image quality, which leads to the identification of criminals. However, some houses have fake cameras, but they’re pointless and even counterproductive. A smart thief will easily realize it’s a fake. It’s simple, but criminals prefer to enter in the dark, so it’s worth installing motion sensor lights. They don’t want to make noise, so houses with anti-theft gravel are also something they avoid,” says A.

The modern thief, driven by small amounts of money, is willing to take lives easily. That’s why it’s crucial to take all possible precautions. Even a few minutes of delay can save lives.

“FRIDAY” December 13-20, 2024 issue.