A house undergoing renovation is an open house. Scaffolding against the façade, window frames removed, a temporary door, tools lying about, and workers coming and going whom nobody recognises: for a few weeks, everything that usually protects a home in Lokeren is put on hold. And in Lokeren, where 68 residential burglaries were recorded in 2025, the building site remains the blind spot in most renovation projects.
Lokeren: a real decline, but a resilient baseline
The figures recorded by the federal police show the following series for Lokeren: 92 residential burglaries in 2019, 56 in 2020, 74 in 2021, 106 in 2022, 80 in 2023, 84 in 2024 and 68 in 2025.
The long-term reading is positive: the highest figure for the municipality dates back to 2000, with 217 incidents, and there were still 143 in 2015. Over six years, the decline amounts to 26.1 per cent, and the year-on-year fall is 19 per cent.
The short-term reading calls for caution. The low point in 2020, at 56, was an artefact of the lockdowns: homes were occupied and opportunities were scarce. By 2022, the figure for the municipality had risen to 106, above its 2019 level. The figures for the last three years — 80, 84, 68 — show a plateau that is gradually declining rather than a sharp drop, still representing an average of 1.3 residential burglaries per week.
One final statistic characterises Lokeren: out of 95 burglaries in buildings recorded in 2025, residential properties account for only 72%. This is a low proportion, consistent with a town which, alongside its residential neighbourhoods, is home to workshops, warehouses and commercial premises. A renovation site, with all its equipment and materials, is in fact more akin to this second category than to an occupied dwelling.
The building site: the blind spot of home security
Renovating creates three vulnerabilities at the same time, and they combine badly.
The building envelope is breached. A façade undergoing renovation, window frames removed and awaiting replacement, a dismantled garage door, an open roof: the points of entry multiply, and none of them can be locked as they will be once the work is complete. The scaffolding presents its own problem — it provides access to the upper floors, which are never as well protected as the ground floor.
The house is visibly unoccupied. A building site is obvious from a distance: a skip in front of the door, tarpaulins, no curtains, and an unused letterbox. In a neighbourhood of terraced houses in Lokeren, these tell-tale signs are plain for anyone passing by on the street to see, even in the evenings and at weekends when the workers have gone home.
The contents change in nature. Whilst the building work is underway, it is no longer the television that holds value, but the power tools, the rolls of cable, the brand-new boiler still in its packaging, and the bathroom fittings. These items can be sold on quickly and cannot be traced.
A proportionate response is not a permanent installation put in place too soon — it would be disrupted by dust, power cuts and vibrations. It is a temporary, stand-alone and movable system: a few detectors on accessible openings, an outdoor siren to cut short a night-time visit, and remote monitoring of the site whilst work is in progress — that is the role of the Ajax X-Observer range. A wireless alarm kit is well suited to this purpose: it can be installed without drilling, packed away and redeployed once the finishing work is complete.
Wired or wireless: the decision must be made before the walls are closed up
This is the only point in a house’s life cycle when the question really arises. Once the walls have been plastered and the floors laid, the decision is automatically made in favour of wireless.
The reasoning is simple. In major renovation projects — when chases are open, conduits pulled and the electrical distribution board redone — a wired Fibra installation becomes a sensible option: no batteries to replace, a continuous power supply, and a connection unaffected by radio interference. Its labour cost is cancelled out when the tradespeople are already on site and the walls are open.
Conversely, for a partial renovation — a kitchen, a bathroom, or roof insulation — running cables makes no sense, and wireless remains the right choice. The common factor in both scenarios: the control panel is chosen first, because it determines what you can add later. Our guide which Ajax alarm to choose in Belgium frames this decision.
One point that renovators often overlook: renovation introduces pressurised water where there was none before — new manifolds, a boiler, a washing machine that has been moved. Installing flood detectors at the same time addresses a type of damage that is statistically far more common than a break-in, and the same system handles them.
After the building work: where a house in Lokeren remains open
The buildings in Lokeren are typical of a Flemish suburb: terraced houses with small gardens, adjoining garages, outbuildings and sheds at the back of the plot. Renovation work often focuses on the front façade — the one that’s visible — whilst leaving the rear unchanged, even though that is precisely the side through which intruders enter.
There are three points worth addressing whilst the building works are underway: the connecting door between the garage and the house, which is almost never locked and rarely fitted with a proper lock cylinder; the new window opening onto the garden, where the fittings determine its resistance more than the glazing itself; and the garden shed, which now houses the tools and serves as a ladder to the first floor. For this last area, effective detection takes place outside, with detectors designed for outdoor use.
No municipal subsidy in Lokeren, but a free visit
Let’s be clear: no municipal security subsidy has been identified for Lokeren. Do not base your renovation budget on the assumption that you will receive a municipal refund. And if you find one elsewhere in Belgium, check its scope first: these grants cover mechanical protection — locks, lock cylinders, burglar-resistant glazing, window frames — and exclude alarms and cameras.
What does exist, however, and which is worth more than a subsidy during a building project, is advice from the diefstalpreventieadviseur (theft prevention adviser). The municipality describes the process on its page on burglary prevention; the Lokale Politie Lokeren (5434) is the point of contact. The visit is free of charge and has no commercial interest. The best time to request it is before the first hammer blow: the adviser’s recommendations on cylinders and frames cost a fraction of their price when they are included in the specifications rather than added afterwards.
What the law requires once the system is operational
The obligations are federal and are the same in all three regions. Alarm: registration within ten days via police-on-web, annual confirmation, outdoor siren limited to three minutes, annual maintenance, mandatory alarm verification before police intervention — Royal Decree of 25 April 2007. Our guide sets out the registration of an alarm system in Belgium.
Camera: registration on declarationcamera.be, regulatory pictogram, data processing register, and a ban on filming public roads or neighbouring plots. A site camera trained on a skip placed on the public road is, therefore, non-compliant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many burglaries were there in Lokeren in 2025?
According to police crime statistics, 68 residential burglaries were recorded in Lokeren in 2025. This is 19 per cent fewer than in 2024 and 26.1 per cent fewer than in 2019, when there were 92 incidents. The highest number recorded in the municipality dates back to 2000, with 217 incidents.
Is there a municipal subsidy in Lokeren to help secure your home?
No municipal security subsidy has been identified for Lokeren. Where such subsidies exist in Belgium, they fund mechanical protection — locks, lock cylinders, burglar-resistant glazing, window frames — and explicitly exclude alarm systems and cameras. The right point of contact remains the theft prevention adviser of the police zone.
Should the alarm be fitted during or after the building work?
Both, but not the same equipment. During the building works, a temporary wireless system is sufficient to cover the accessible openings and can be moved as the work progresses. The permanent installation is fitted once the finishing work is complete; however, the choice between wired and wireless must be made before the walls are closed up.
Is a wired system worthwhile in a major renovation?
Yes, when the chases are already open and the electrical board is being redone. A wired system eliminates the need to replace batteries and operates on a continuous power supply, unaffected by radio interference. Its additional labour cost largely disappears if the wiring is carried out during the structural work.
Where can I get free advice on theft prevention in Lokeren?
From the diefstalpreventieadviseur (theft prevention adviser) of Lokale Politie Lokeren (5434), via the municipality’s page on burglary prevention. The visit is free of charge, has no commercial purpose, and it is advisable to request it before any building work begins.
Sources: Police crime statistics, Federal Police DGR/DRI/BIPOL, publication 2025_T04 (cut-off date 24/04/2026) — Lokeren municipal fact sheet. Municipal schemes to help with home security change from one financial year to the next: check with the municipality before incurring any costs.