Burglary

Overall property crime was down in 2010 according to the FBI, despite the rough economy. But in rural and suburban areas, the larceny and burglary rates actually rose. Here's why crime is shifting away from the big cities -- and what you should do to avoid being a victim.

With vacation season in full swing -- and your mind in vacation mode -- it's easy to forget that summer is also the season of the burglar. That's because as more and more people get out of town, leaving their houses unoccupied, criminals are gearing up for the easy pickings of their busy...

I'm not one to usually use salty language, but my first thought when I saw this Web site was WTF? That's because PleaseRobMe.com looks and acts like a how-to manual for burglars. And in many ways, it is. If you go to the Web site, you'll find that it's constantly updating messages from people who...

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are saddened, stunned by the terrible news surrounding a shooting of four police officers this weekend at a coffee shop in Parkland, Wash. All four died, leaving a total of nine children and three spouses behind. With the horrifying events outside of Tacoma as a...

The holiday season is full of parties, travel and gift-giving. According to noted security expert Chris E. McGoey, AKA the Crime Doctor, these same joys can also make your home a more alluring target for burglars. Fortunately, he has suggestions on how you can minimize the risk. How is the risk...

I noticed some surprisingly good news in the annual report from the city where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area -- crime has dropped. I say surprisingly because in a recession, I'd expect crime to increase as more people lose their jobs and have to find other ways -- some illegal -- to make...

Along with "passports, tickets, money," every traveler ought to repeat a second mantra: "Don't bring it if you can't afford to lose it."A Saudi princess is repeating that lesson to herself after she lost all her valuables on vacation. Staying at a luxury hotel in Sardinia, Italy, she locked jewels...

In Tokyo, it's called "Operation Flower." I, too, have observed the phenomenon: Pretty flowers deter crime. And in Suginami City, a district of Tokyo, there's pretty amazing data to back up the theories. After a shameful year of break-ins in 2002 -- 1,710 in an area with a population of about...

USA Today tells the story of a guy who went online to tell all the world about his vacation as it unfolded -- and came home to a burglarized house.I think that one of the reasons social media was invented was to satisfy the primal human need to boast. Go on, admit it: You've gone online simply to...

State police and the FBI discovered 27 New York Giants' Super Bowl rings in a safe deposit box in Saugus, Massachusetts.The rings were stolen from an Attleboro jeweler by bandits who drilled a hole through the roof and stole a 1,000 pound safe filled with over $2 million worth of jewelry. The Super...