Utah Community Sees Spike in Burglaries

It’s a bit ironic that the State of Utah, which happens to be the home of so many “door knocker” alarm companies, should be the source for this news article on increasing home intrusions. After all, one might expect that by now almost every home in Utah would be protected by an electronic security system, given the way the door knockers work so hard to blanket the rest of the country with their widely documented persistent and often overly aggressive door-to-door approach.

However, it appears that there are just as many unprotected homes in Utah as there are in the rest of the US – and that means roughly four in five homes without an alarm system.  It’s surprising that so many homeowners still choose to take a chance by leaving their homes and families without this affordable and reliable source for peace of mind – and since these systems do so much more today. By the way, that increased reliability comes from safer cellular monitoring – and from companies like FrontPoint. We have used cellular monitoring in every system we have ever sold. But here’s the article from South Jordan, Utah, a community south of Salt Lake City.

Home burglary is one of the most common crimes in Utah neighborhoods, affecting thousands of homeowners every year. Don Malouf was a victim of burglary. He was on vacation when a burglar went through his backyard, broke through the door and rummaged through his house. "There's a feeling of violation," Malouf said.

Evidence From Security Camera

He shared his reaction, after seeing a ghostly looking picture of the suspected burglar taken from a security camera. "Holy cow, there's a creepy looking guy in my house," he said. "I mean he came in, he saw the camera and walked over and unplugged it, I guess, or drifted over and unplugged it." Unfortunately, that creepy looking "ghost" took off with his TV.

Classic Knock-Knock Burglar

Chris Payton, another victim of a burglary, said "I thought this was a safe neighborhood." Payton also got a picture of the suspected burglar just outside his front door. Surveillance footage shows a FedEx driver dropping off a package of electronics at Payton's house. A few hours later, an unknown man makes his way to the porch, looks down at the package, knocks on the door and leaves. About a minute after that he reappears, knocks again, and takes off again. But he's still not done. Forty-five seconds later, he knocks, walks out of frame, and then grabs the package and takes off. "It's infuriating that someone would just steal it," Payton said.

Local Police Comment

"Pretty much if it's not bolted to the house, or into the garage, or into the car itself, they'll take it," said Sgt. Sam Winkler, with the South Jordan Police Department. Winkler said here in Utah, if you're going to be the victim of a crime chances are it will be at the hands of a burglar. "We don't have a lot of homicides," he said. "We don't have a lot of arsons or sex offenses. But we do have a lot of property crimes."

FBI Statistics Are Grim

FBI numbers show about 14,000 homes are burglarized every year in Utah, costing homeowners more than $24 million. Thieves usually strike in broad daylight, and most of the time they don't have to force their way inside. That's what happened to Marissa Maughan. "He went through the window, the basement window," she said. The window wasn't locked, and Maughan walked into her home while the burglary was in progress. "I'm opening the door, and he's flying away," she said. "You know, it's the stuff on the news that's now happening to you, and you just got hit with reality."

Great Advice on Home Security

The reality is, too often we practically invite burglars into our homes, with unlocked doors, property in plain sight and a wide-open garage. Burglaries may never be stopped completely, but sometimes it's almost scary how easy we make it for them.

It’s true that burglaries do happen more often during daylight hours. And it’s also true that so many homeowners make it easy for intruders to enter their homes. With a burglary taking place every 14 seconds in the US, and burglars getting smarter, we really do need to offer the best and most reliable technology in a monitored home alarm system. FrontPoint specializes in these systems: as the leader in wireless home security, and the #1 ranked alarm company in the US. You can even set up your FrontPoint system yourself, in about half an hour, and move it when you move. FrontPoint systems are safer, smarter, simpler, more affordable, and virtually impossible to defeat – and you’ll never have to worry about that burglar stealing your peace of mind, day or night.