'Corona Home-Stay' Leads to Significant Decrease in Burglary Incidents

S-1 Crime Prevention Research Institute Analyzes 800,000 Customer Data
42% Sharp Decline Last Year... January Most Frequent "Be Careful During Holiday Season"

Last year, crimes involving burglaries of vacant homes significantly decreased due to COVID-19. This change occurred as social distancing measures reduced outings and staying at home became the norm. According to data analyzed from 800,000 customers by S-1, a comprehensive security solution company’s Crime Prevention Research Institute, burglary crimes last year dropped by 42% compared to 2019.

◆Vacant Home Burglaries Decrease Due to COVID-19 'Staying at Home'=According to the analysis, the month with the highest number of burglary crimes last year was January, accounting for 14.5% of the total. S-1 noted that traditionally, burglary crimes tend to increase at the beginning of the year and before the Lunar New Year holidays, so caution is advised during these periods. Following January, April (10.3%), August (10.3%), and February (9.5%) had the most burglary incidents. A notable point is April. In 2019, burglary crimes steadily decreased each month after peaking in January until April. However, last year showed an increase again in April. This is interpreted as related to the sharp drop in COVID-19 cases from 6,737 in March to 887 in April, indicating that as the pandemic situation somewhat calmed, burglary crimes increased.

By day of the week, Monday (17.6%) had the highest number of incidents, followed by Tuesday (16%), Sunday (14.9%), Wednesday (14.9%), Saturday (14.1%), Friday (11.8%), and Thursday (10.7%). Unlike 2019, when burglary crimes were concentrated on weekends and holidays, last year saw more attempts on weekdays. A representative from S-1 stated, "Weekend burglaries decreased as people stayed home during weekends," adding, "However, since the decrease in burglary crimes due to COVID-19 is only temporary and not permanent, constant vigilance is necessary."

Burglary attempts were mainly concentrated between midnight and 6 a.m., accounting for 68% of all cases. In particular, 2 a.m., a dark and less populated time, saw the highest number of attempts at 19%. Regarding entry points, criminals mostly used windows (33%), followed by auxiliary doors (29%) and main doors (25%). Analysis of cases involving window entry revealed that 61% of the windows were unlocked, and the stolen items were primarily cash (85%).

◆Demand for Security Solutions Actually Increased=Although burglary crimes decreased after COVID-19, the demand for security solutions actually increased. This is due to the shift in the purpose of using security solutions from 'crime prevention' to 'daily convenience.' According to S-1’s sales of untact (contactless) solutions, the number of issued 'mobile cards,' which allow access and security operation via smartphones, increased by 58% last year compared to the average issuance from 2018 to 2019. Users of the app 'Mobile Viewer,' which enables CCTV monitoring via mobile devices, also increased by 11% year-on-year. Sales of the untact PC off solution rose by 87.4%, and the untact logistics solution Uvis increased by 12.7%.

A representative from S-1’s Crime Prevention Research Institute said, "In the post-COVID era, as daily life recovers, burglary crimes may also return to previous levels," adding, "Untact solutions that provide both security and convenience services will be even more highly valued."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.