The number of house burglaries carried out between September and February is 80 per cent higher than in the rest of the year, according to a new report by Eircom Phonewatch. A majority of the homes burgled are occupied at the time.
The burglary report draws samples from 11,500 household insurance claims made to the Miller Farrell insurance group between December 1998 and February 2000.
The report highlights Dublin as suffering the greatest number of burglaries at 40 per cent, followed by Co Wicklow at 10 per cent and Co Louth at 5 per cent. Within Dublin, 65 per cent of the homes burgled are on the south side, 35 per cent on the north side.
Dublin postal districts registering the highest number of claims in 1999 include Dublin 14 (6.5 per cent), Dublin 22 (6.5 per cent) and Dublin 6 (9 per cent).
Counties registering 1 per cent of burglaries or less include Clare, Kilkenny, Mayo, Laois, Offaly, Monaghan and Westmeath. The study analyses 1,365 burglaries by month and finds that the greatest number occur in December (198) and January (200), with August registering the lowest amount (77).
"The only assumption we can make from this is that burglars also take their holidays in August. From September onwards, the graph illustrates a rising increase of burglaries coinciding with the onset of winter," the report states.
Twenty-six per cent of burglaries occur between noon and 4 p.m., 21 per cent between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. and 19 per cent between midnight and 4 a.m. Sixty-three per cent of burglaries are on homes occupied at the time of the break-in. Eighty per cent of the homes surveyed did not have an alarm.
According to the report, almost half of all burglaries (43 per cent) occur in semi-detached houses, followed by detached houses at 30 per cent and terraced houses at 20 per cent. The lowest number of burglaries occurs in apartment blocks and cottages.
In 40 per cent of break-ins, access is gained through a window at the rear of the property. A further 18 per cent of burglars enter through the back door and 17 per cent through the front door. Mr Nick Quigley, chief executive of Eircom PhoneWatch, says the report is part of the company's programme to raise awareness of household security.
"The report highlights a number of very alarming but predictable statistics on burglaries which, in many instances, can be avoided by people simply being much more conscious of security in their homes," he says.