For most of us, theft is against our moral standards. Many of us prefer the satisfaction of working hard to earn something. It doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to take something that doesn’t belong to you. So why are there so many thieves? What makes a thief steal something?

Mental health professionals think that stealing may be linked to a psychological disorder. It’s possible that stealing helps thieves to feel better if they suffer from depression, or helps to boost their self-esteem. These thieves are labeled as “kleptomaniacs”, which is defined as someone who steals often and it becomes easy to them. It is understood that poverty is a root of stealing, but this theory has been proven wrong by the amount of people who are “well-off” that steal. There are people who can afford the item or don’t even need that item, and they still steal. This can be considered a mental health illness.

While our understanding for why people steal is limited, we can take necessary precautions against thieves targeting our homes.

Here are some things that you can do to help prevent theft:

1. Most importantly, make sure all doors and windows are locked. Even when you are home.
2. Making your home look occupied even when it isn’t, greatly reduces your chances of a break-in. If you are going away for awhile, leave your front porch light on or even a TV on.
3. Hire a house sitter if you are going to be out of town for a stretch of time.
4. If someone notices your mail is stacking up, they will realize you are not there. Make sure your house sitter is collecting your mail/newspapers as well.
5. Store expensive purchases such as grills and lawnmowers out of sight.
6. Install an alarm system to get immediate notice if your home is broken into. Also, always make sure to activate your alarm system.
7. If someone plans to steal from you, the first thing they are likely to do is search for your extra house key that you left under your doormat. If you absolutely must leave a spare key outside your home, you must find a much more clever way to do so.
8. Close your garage door, even if you are only going inside your home for a few moments.
9. Use curtains to prevent thieves from being able to see into your home.
10. Install the most effective locks in your doors.
11. If you make any expensive purchase, break down the box before putting them outside so that no one will know about your valuable asset.