Most Burglaries Happen in the Small Hours

The vast majority of break-ins at homes or offices occur between midnight and 6 a.m., a leading security company said Thursday.

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S1 Corp. said analysis of some 900,000 homes and offices the company protects showed around 570 burglaries last year. Seventy-eight percent happened in the small hours, and the second most common time for was 6 a.m. to noon.

Weekends and holidays were the riskiest time. Saturdays saw the most break-ins with 17 percent, followed by Mondays with 16 percent and Sundays and Tuesdays with 15 percent each.

The high incidence of break-ins on Mondays and Tuesdays last year was probably due to quite a few public holidays falling on the weekend, so they were made up at the beginning of the following week.

By month, January and February saw the most break-ins with 20 percent because more cash is stored at home for the Lunar New Year and people are away from home for long periods. July and August followed with 19 percent because people are away on their summer breaks.

The most popular entry points for burglars were windows with 39 percent, followed by doors with 29 percent.