Home Security Basics

Understanding basic home security best practices could mean the difference between keeping your home safe and becoming the victim of a break-in. Start protecting your home better by exploring our Home Security Basics section which provides a good foundation of knowledge on everything from security cameras to outdoor lighting options that help prevent break-ins before they happen.

Home Security - Crime Data at a Glance (2008)

Violent Crime Data at a Glance (2008)

State	Population	Violent Crime	Murder	Forcible Rape	Robbery	Aggravated Assault
Alabama	852981	3107	80	202	1467	1358
Arizona	3781352	10440	151	568	4110	5611
California	17332498	51460	661	2251	21832	26716
Colorado	1948077	4364	47	553	1219	2545
Connecticut	488964	1819	19	80	787	933
Florida	4060426	19069	193	716	6818	11342
Georgia	1007739	4874	78	145	2176	2475
Hawaii	905903	1235	8	96	418	713
Idaho	199104	278	1	49	31	197
Illinois	3551248	17692	244	57	7826	9565
Indiana	467845	986	22	111	459	394
Iowa	317678	894	5	95	228	566
Kansas	434480	877	20	75	291	491
Kentucky	896845	2840	29	191	1035	1585
Louisiana	763083	4393	138	171	1422	2662
Maryland	624237	4890	105	71	1873	2841
Massachusetts	1122833	5421	42	218	1627	3534
Michigan	1658661	11572	165	383	3820	7204
Minnesota	642902	3345	26	259	1305	1755
Mississippi	175525	729	24	63	386	256
Missouri	1055289	7376	139	436	2407	4394
Montana	101342	148	1	15	30	102
Nebraska	675053	1781	20	140	498	1123
Nevada	2018042	8368	66	486	2987	4829
New Jersey	992397	3720	62	76	1945	1637
New York	9150287	27524	299	675	11844	14706
North Carolina	1619911	6568	79	285	2719	3485
Ohio	2168887	10667	121	838	5657	4051
Oklahoma	1027389	4929	44	310	1158	3417
Oregon	840075	2160	17	166	683	1294
Pennsylvania	1956921	12032	199	618	5541	5674
Rhode Island	173719	553	8	17	230	298
South Carolina	229931	386	11	33	257	222
South Dakota	144985	255	2	73	19	161
Tennessee	1686377	12647	131	472	3917	8127
Texas	9311154	34780	427	1723	13019	19611
Utah	415160	1024	8	94	330	592
Virginia	1639860	3995	72	210	1816	1897
Washington	675257	1882	12	165	566	1139
Wisconsin	898318	4053	38	142	1603	2270

Property Crime Data at a Glance (2008)

State	Property Crime	Burglary	Larceny / Theft	Motor Vehicle Theft	Arson
Alabama	27406	6375	18512	2519	158
Arizona	76922	17719	49085	15515	602
California	273275	53204	164008	56063	2727
Colorado	31854	6547	21568	3739	248
Connecticut	9901	1581	6780	1540	84
Florida	102426	24252	67282	10892	488
Georgia	33151	7803	21028	4320	156
Hawaii	15106	3071	10334	1701	185
Idaho	2710	429	2168	113	23
Illinois	70832	13860	47094	9878	390
Indiana	10441	2523	7224	694	123
Iowa	7870	1512	5808	550	37
Kansas	8929	1814	5871	1244	28
Kentucky	18429	4390	12443	1596	103
Louisiana	22218	5879	13438	2901	161
Maryland	14526	3662	8224	2640	231
Massachusetts	19513	3826	13486	2201	49
Michigan	38863	12658	18108	9316	473
Minnesota	14689	3554	8985	2150	140
Mississippi	6252	2052	3340	860	50
Missouri	38001	8428	24188	5385	348
Montana	2025	312	1586	127	11
Nebraska	14503	2199	10650	1654	1
Nevada	37986	9984	20376	7626	211
New Jersey	15918	3451	8586	3881	131
New York	88125	13449	66927	7749	197
North Carolina	46446	11972	30140	4334	278
Ohio	61364	19506	34385	7473	847
Oklahoma	27471	7373	16974	3124	187
Oregon	22001	3309	16032	2660	200
Pennsylvania	39824	8211	26162	5451	80
Rhode Island	4313	904	2656	753	16
South Carolina	5222	850	3891	481	14
South Dakota	1695	277	1320	98	12
Tennessee	54886	13156	36695	5035	173
Texas	233761	51608	156158	25995	1724
Utah	12079	1575	9132	1372	31
Virginia	28958	4876	21755	2327	219
Washington	17520	3104	11792	2624	89
Wisconsin	23118	4375	15095	3648	184