Most UAE residents lock their doors while away, but many homes lack security features

UAE residents are careful when locking their doors - but almost half have taken no further security measures to protect their home.

ABU DHABI // Residents predominately lock their houses or apartments regardless of whether they are indoors or away from home - but nearly half have no fitted security measures to deter burglars.

A YouGov crime poll found 8 in 10 respondents (80 per cent) usually lock their house or apartment when they are inside, while 9 in 10 (92 per cent) lock their house or apartment when they leave.

“Ideally 100 per cent would have been the perfect number to reach,” said Lara Al Barazi, associate research director of YouGov.

“But many residents in the UAE live in secure compounds or buildings and feel quite safe not to lock their residences.

“So given the situation in the UAE, this number makes sense.”

The study found females were marginally more security-conscious than their male counterparts while indoors whereas men were more likely to lock the house or apartment when they left their home.

The 30 to 34-year-old age group were the most cautious when it came to locking their house while indoors (82 per cent) while the 40+ age-group were the most responsible age-group when it came to securing their house or apartment when leaving home (94 per cent).

The 18 to 24-year-old category were the most lax when it came to security measures.

The survey questioned 1008 people - 131 Emiratis, 285 Arab expatriates, 530 Asian expatriates and 42 Western expatriates and 12 others living in the seven emirates.

When it came to home security Asian expatriates tended to be among the most security conscious with 87 per cent of those asked locking their home when indoors and 95 per cent locking their home when they leave.

Emiratis had a more relaxed approach to home security. When indoors, 68 per cent said they would lock their house or apartment while 82 per cent said they would lock the door when they leave their home.

When asked how worried they were that somebody would break in or unlawfully enter their home, Asian expatriates were the most worried. Of those asked, 44 per cent felt it was a concern.

In general, slightly more than a third (37 per cent) said they were worried about somebody breaking into their home compared to 32 per cent who are not.

Western expatriates tended to feel less concern about being the victim of burglary. Just four per cent said they were “very worried” about somebody breaking into their home while 71 per cent were either neutral, a bit worried or not worried at all.

The survey asked respondents what security measures they had taken at their home in the UAE such as burglar alarms, fitted double locks or deadlocks, security chains on their door, indoor or outdoor sensor lights, lockable gates or personal CCTV.

Nearly half (45 per cent) cited no security measures are installed in their home in the UAE.

The most popular security measures were fitted double locks or deadlocks on the outside doors of their home (25 per cent) and fitted window locks (21 per cent).

The survey also quizzed respondents on vehicle security.

Of those asked, 70 per cent agreed they always lock their car doors irrespective of the situation compared to almost a fifth (16 per cent) who cited they lock their car doors but sometimes do not - for instance when leaving it for a short time. Only one per cent of those asked said they would never lock their car door.