Thieves come in all flavors, from the really old pro, who spends all his prison time constantly learning the ropes, to the kid next door looking for cigarettes.
The most common is the kid, or kids, in your neighborhood. Actual most common thief is your next door neighbors daughter's boyfriend.
Which means, yeah, he knows when you are home.
Most break-in’s are done by someone that is drunk, stoned, or both.
No real life 'cat burglars' who 'case' the joint and keep notes, work middle class, or even lower upper class neighborhoods.
People who want to do that much work, and are that organized, know you can make much more money with a part time day job than any thief makes.
Of course since most thieves are amateurs, they are less predictable, and more dangerous than any real 'professional' thief would ever be.
Any thief is more afraid of a homeowner with a gun than the whole police department, and with good reason. The cops, while not exactly on the thief's side, are MUCH more sympathetic, understanding and plain worried about the thief's well being.
A homeowner may fly off the handle and pot some idiot just stealing a rake, or 'borrowing' a hose.
That said, thieves don't like being seen. Period.
Noisy dog is number one deterrent. A 'pro' will know how to handle a dog, a kid will hit the house two doors down.
Best overall advice is
1. make sure everything is visible. Not the inside of the garage, but the entrances and the easy places to climb your fence, or get on the roof. Roof is a favorite place of entry, by the way.
2. Use plenty of outside light. NOBODY wants to walk across a well lit yard to commit a crime, much less carry the swag back across a well lit yard.
Most crimes take place after the bars close, after TV shuts down, so keep it well lit all night.
3. back to 1, don't let clutter, cars, bushes, landscaping, etc. give anyone dark shadows or a place to hide.
4. Reverse of 1. Don't let the thief be able to see INTO windows, and SEE the loot. Seeing something worth stealing is like showing a bright object to a Magpie. It's irresistible.
5. Harden the garage. Make it tough to break into.
Ignore guys who tell you 'nothing is theft proof'. It is true, but meaningless. If it takes skill, tools, noise or work to break in, the thief is almost for sure going to go somewhere else. If they weren’t lazy, they wouldn't be a thief, now would they?
So windows must be SECURE. Bars are always nice, but a locking bar is minimum. Mesh wire over the inside of a window stops most thieves. They don't really carry lots of tools in the real world.
A window box full of cactus has deterred many a burglar.
Doors that look as though they can be kicked in, will be kicked in.
A deadbolt is only helpful if
A. it is secured, and
B. it is SET.
Most guys never deadbolt their garage at night. Remember, Murphy's law says he will break in the one night you forget...
The garage door is easy to force open unless you have a major lock on it. A metal door is noisy to open, that is a plus.
Lights inside are only a good idea if you have BIG windows, so you MAY see the clown going through your boxes. If you only have little windows, better to keep it dark so you can see HIS flashlight, while he looks for the good stuff. In a dark garage he isn’t getting much. If you have small windows, or windows that don’t face the house, the light just makes it easier for him to find stuff. Shoplifters work in well lit stores. The light doesn’t seem to bother them…
