Criminals target homes and cars every seven seconds

Houses and cars get broken into or vandalised every seven seconds, or 11,620 times a day, across England and Wales.

Regionally, the East Midlands experienced the most incidents of home and vehicle crime, followed by Wales, and Yorkshire and Humberside, according to analysis of Office for National Statistics data in the 12 months to end-March 2014, by insurer Churchill.

Across England and Wales, terraced houses were targeted 70% more often than detached households over the past year and urban areas were almost 50% more afflicted than rural communities.

Social renters were the worst affected tenancy group, with 218 incidents reported for every 1,000 households. That compares to 159 crimes among owned households.

Unemployed households were the most widely targeted of all households, accounting for 359 incidences per every 1,000 households.

Single-parent households are next on the list (287), followed by economically inactive households where residents may be ill or disabled, for example (276).

Martin Scott, head of Churchill home insurance, said: "Property crime accounts for 72% of all police-recorded crime and 80% of all incidents measured by the Crime Survey of England and Wales.

"It is important that householders are aware of the potential threats to their homes and take the appropriate precautions."

Churchill has the following advice for preventing household crime.

• Install security measures such as security lights, anti-vandal/climb paint and a home alarm.
• Keep your property neat and clean - it is suggested unmaintained properties are more susceptible to crime so repair broken windows/tiles, keep your garden lawn in check and don't leave rubbish, especially from expensive purchases, on the kerb.
• When you're not at home make sure the garden gate is closed, the windows are locked and if you're away for more than a few nights use timers to switch lights on and off.
• Maintain a good relationship with your neighbours so there are more people keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.