Every once in a while a burglar will do something so inept during a crime that the people affected may find themselves laughing more than they are concerned about the incident. While these types of events definitely make for some good humor, they are often a reminder that a person can break into many homes and offices with relative ease and, in the end, only get caught because he/she makes a disastrously stupid error. In the end, you probably don’t want to depend on the ineptitude of criminals to protect your home and should instead put in a good lock and get a camera or alarm system installed.

Looking at one inept criminal

In late April, a man by the name of Christopher White took it upon himself to break into a real estate office. The Slate report detailing the crime asks the obvious question here by wondering why anybody would target a real estate office n the first place, as they are not exactly hotbeds for cash and valuables. However, White may have chosen fairly well, as he broke in with relative ease and made off with three computers unnoticed before going back in to see if anything valuable was left in place. So far, things have been going fairly well for Mr. White. Things took a wrong turn when he got back into the real estate office and found himself staring straight into the eyes of a bear.

This bear was, luckily for White, no longer alive and well. It was an expensive rug that was hanging like a tapestry in the office. Understanding how valuable bear-skin rugs are, and perhaps underestimating how heavy they can be, White proceeded to take the rug off of the wall and try to walk out with it, the news source explained. Fatigued from loading the computers into his van, White managed to succumb to the weight, and comfort, of the rug and proceeded to fall asleep wrapped in the carpet. He did not wake up until police found him the next morning.

According to Slate, that morning was an interesting affair for office employees who showed up to work to find the office broken into and quickly became concerned. The police were called in to investigate, and they found White asleep in the bear-skin rug, leading to his arrest and the recapture of the computers that were sitting in the van.

Learning from the sleepy burglar

The news source explained that a later investigation revealed that Mr. White was inebriated and not completely within his normal senses when performing the crime.

This reveals a fairly common scenario: A person who is drunk, disorderly, and desperate for some money spots an empty home or business that looks easy to break into, gets in, and steals the most valuable objects clearly visible. You can’t depend on having that individual make a major mistake and mess up the crime. Instead, you need to have some basic security systems in place to protect your property. Security cameras, a good lock, window gates, and similar solutions can repel a desperate criminal immediately because he or she does not want to take on the added risk of getting caught.

Investing in an alarm system can also pay dividends as it puts systems in place to identify when your home has been breached and notify authorities, either scaring burglars away before they can do damage or letting law enforcement professionals arrive in time to apprehend the individual. A good security solution can play a vital role in protecting your home or business from desperate criminals.