The federal police recorded 35,438 burglaries in Belgium in 2025, a 7% decrease compared with 2024. An encouraging figure, though one to be qualified: according to the 2024 Security Monitor, around 66% of attempted break-ins and 30% of burglaries are never reported. The phenomenon is therefore more widespread than the official statistics suggest.
A burglar is above all looking for speed and discretion
Before forcing a door, a burglar watches. They favour targets that reduce the risk of being seen or heard, and instinctively avoid those that show signs of vigilance or regular occupancy. Scouting is often done from the street, in a few seconds, without any need to go inside.
The signs that give away an absence
- An overflowing letterbox: the most classic sign, and the most visible from the pavement.
- Shutters or curtains always in the same position, day and night.
- No variation in lighting in the evening, over several consecutive days.
- Untended plants or lawn, a sign of prolonged absence.
- Tools, ladders or building materials left in view in the garden or against the facade — they can be used for the break-in itself.
- Geotagged posts announcing a holiday departure before you are back.
What actually deters
A visible alarm — outdoor siren, stickers, keypad near the entrance — changes the burglar's calculation before they even try anything: the risk of being spotted or heard rises sharply. A visible camera adds a further risk, that of being identified. Combined, the two cover different needs: one interrupts and scares off, the other documents — we explain this difference in Alarm or camera: which to choose.
Habits that cost nothing
Asking a neighbour to collect the post, setting plug-in timers to vary the lighting, avoiding announcing an absence online before you are back, and putting away any tools or ladders that could make a break-in easier: these free habits already remove a large part of the outward signs a burglar looks for.