Holiday schedules often mean empty houses, extra deliveries, and cold-weather wear on your home. The most effective approach blends maintenance (freeze prevention and electrical safety), kid-safe decorating, and layered security. National indicators show that burglary remains historically low even as some property crimes rose recently \u2014 for example, the FBI reports that burglary declined year over year in 2023 while larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft increased<\/a> \u2014 so focus on deterring opportunistic thefts, managing deliveries, and making your home look occupied. See the crime note below for details and sources.<\/p>\n\n\n You\u2019ll see seasonal headlines (and Home Alone<\/em> references) warning of holiday burglary spikes. Current national data don\u2019t show a unique winter surge in residential burglary. The FBI\u2019s 2023 national release<\/a> indicates that burglary fell compared with 2022, while other property offenses such as larceny-theft (which can include opportunistic thefts like taking delivered packages) and motor vehicle theft increased. Long\u2011run trends from the federal victimization survey also show burglary far below 1990s levels, though survey data capture incidents not always reported to police.<\/p>\n For seasonal context, federal surveys have shown winter months tend to have lower burglary than warmer seasons; see BJS seasonal victimization patterns<\/a>. The more common holiday risks are opportunistic thefts and unattended deliveries rather than a distinct spike in home break\u2011ins. We spoke with seven home security experts for this article, and none reported a consistent increase in break-ins during the holidays. \u201cIn my experience, there is not necessarily an uptick in burglaries, but I have often seen an uptick in thefts in general around the holidays \u2014 particularly thefts of delivered packages,\u201d Paul Grattan Jr., a sergeant with a large metropolitan police department, told us.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n A note on holiday crimes<\/h3><\/a>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n