Here are the heat maps for Vancouver for the weeks of August 26th through September 1st, and September 2nd through 9th, 2009 that show where reported residential burglaries occurred.
First off is August 26th to September 1st… which had 59 reported residential burglaries:
Next is September 2nd through 9th… where 61 residential burglaries were reported to the VPD…
These numbers average out to about 8.5 residential burglaries per day in the city. That’s been pretty consistent for all of August… about 60 home broken into each week. When you factor in that most burglaries happen between Monday and Friday, between 11am and 4:00pm (rather than evenly spread over a 24 hour period)… the real “average” gets closer to 12 per day.
These maps help show that residential burglary is not concentrated heavily in any one neighbourhood. Crooks pick on homes in every neighbourhood throughout the city. When a spike is seen in any particular neighbourhood, it is typically the work of a single burglar working one place for a few days before moving to another area in the city.
By the end of the year, if you take all of these heat maps from throughout the year and superimpose them on one another, there are not too many ‘burglar free’ spaces. Here’s what 2007 looked like…
So… the bad news is that burglary is (and will continue to be) a major concern in Vancouver. The good news is that it really isn’t that hard to minimize your risk of becoming a victim. It’s not expensive either. In fact, most of the security tactics that have the most impact are either free or at least very cheap.
One of the best ways to learn about how to maximize your home security is to attend one of our ‘Preventing Burglary’ seminars. Our next one is on Tuesday, September 22nd at 6:45pm. Click here to RSVP.
Would you like to get updates about the crime that is happening in your neighbourhood (if you live in Vancouver)?
We send out a newsletter every couple of months that includes burglary statistics that are broken out by neighbourhood, and customized to where you live. If you’d like to subscribe, please visit our website at www.providentsecurity.ca and add your email address in the ‘Subscribe to our Newsletter’ box on the right hand side. (We promise not to send you anything other than the newsletter.)