"Ladri, alla larga da casa mia!"

n Ticino, in 2012, 1,734 burglaries were recorded in residential homes. This corresponds to an average of 4.75 burglaries per day and 5.15 burglaries per 1,000 inhabitants. In Ticino, more residential burglaries are recorded than pickpocketing, theft by dexterity, and muggings combined.

In Lugano, in 2012, 277 residential burglaries were recorded, accounting for 16% of the cantonal total. This amounts to 0.75 burglaries per day, with a rate of 5.02 crimes per 1,000 inhabitants.

Burglars do not distinguish between rich and poor. The perpetrators choose their targets mainly based on the poor state of human and technological surveillance and the attractiveness of the target (easy access to premises, high-value property, poor resistance of structures to penetration, etc.).

The burglars themselves confirm (based on police reports) that Switzerland offers good targets and that it is easier to carry out burglaries due to weak window and door frames and the absence of alarm systems.

What can be done to prevent burglary risks?
Change. It is, first of all, about changing attitudes towards the problem and recognizing that the best form of prevention is self-protection by the homeowner. Homeowners should be able to know and apply the right behaviors and make their homes more secure.

The Lugano City Police launched a prevention campaign called "Burglars, stay away from my house!", aimed at residents, in all residential neighborhood squares.

Police officers patrolled the scheduled areas with a mobile office to meet citizens and residents and to offer advice, using helpful information brochures and security checklists to provide the best remedies against home burglaries. In particular, the brochure "Burglars, stay away from my house!" was distributed.