According to the latest data from the FBI, in 2017 there were a total of 1,401,840 burglaries in the country with 67.2% of these burglaries taking place in residential properties, and victims suffering property losses totaling over $3.4billion.
As Kastle Systems continues to grow in serving the high-end residential and MultiFamily residential security markets, we were interested in investigating what steps people are taking to secure their homes, as well as just how many people have experienced crime in their home.
To answer these questions and more, we surveyed people throughout the country with some interesting results.
Looking at security system use by generation, we can see that the Baby Boomer generation are the least likely to have a security system installed with only 12% admitting to having one.
Millennials, on the other hand, are the generation most likely to have a security system installed because 45% of our Millennial respondents reported having one in their homes.
This generational divide also rings true for smart home security camera use with Millennials being 30% more likely than Baby Boomers to have a smart home security camera installed in their homes.
When we look at gender, we can see that males being just 1% less likely than females to have an electronic security system or smart home security camera installed in their homes.
With 34% of burglars using the front door to gain access to homes, we’re happy to see that the majority of smart home security camera users have cameras installed at their front door, with 68% installing them at this critical entry point to their homes.
Following closely behind the front door, the living room is the area of the home with the second highest smart home security camera installation rate, with 61% of people installing smart home cameras here.
The room people install smart home security cameras in the least? That would be the home office/study with just 13% of people admitting to installing smart home security cameras in this room.
Interestingly, Millennials are the generation most likely to have a home defense weapon with 41% admitting to having a weapon of some kind.
Baby Boomers are the generation least likely to have a home defense weapon with just 24% admitting to having one.
When we look regionally, people in the Midwestern states are the most likely to have a weapon with 37% of people owning one, whereas people in the Northeastern states are the least likely with only 24% of people owning a weapon.
America’s favorite home defense weapon? Well it seems that handguns and knives are tied for first place with 51% of people admitting to having these weapons for home defense.
When we look at the most common weapon choices by gender, it’s interesting to see that males prefer firearms with 59% admitting to owning a handgun and 22% a shotgun.
Females, on the other hand, prefer non-lethal weapons with 42% owning pepper spray and 29% owning tasers.
In terms of experiencing crime in the home, Millennials are the most likely to have a crime committed in their home with 21% admitting to experiencing crime here.
Looking regionally, people living in the Western states are the most likely to experience crime in their homes with 22% of people experiencing a crime.
The Midwestern states seem to be the most secure here however with only 14% of people admitting to experiencing a crime in their home.
Experiencing a crime is always a traumatic experience and we are sad to see that 27% of people have experienced a break in whilst at home.
Shockingly it appears that 10% of people have experienced an assault whilst at home.
Package theft and vandalism seem to be the least common crimes committed in residences with 7% and 6% of people admitting to being a victim of these crimes.
Looking at break-ins, people living in the Northeastern states are the most likely to experience a break in whilst at home with 48% of people in the Northeast admitting to being a victim of burglary whilst in their homes.
The South, on the other hand, is the region where people are more likely to experience a break in while away from their home with 39% of people experiencing this.
So there you have it, Millennials are the most likely to experience crime as well as being the most likely to have a security system and smart home cameras installed. Handguns and Knives are the most common home defense weapons in the country, and people in the Northeast are the most likely to experience break-ins whilst at home.
Effective security for your property is incredibly important and acts as an effective deterrent against crime. With a wide range of solutions available for multifamily properties, we’re here to help.
