12 Feb 2017
Posted by Barry Aldworth 
Almost 8% of Irish homeowners would be willing to tackle a home intruder directly in an attempt to restrain them until Gardaí arrive, according to recent findings from AA Ireland.
7.83% of the almost 7,000 respondents to an AA Home Insurance survey stated that in the event of a hypothetical burglary their first action would attempt to subdue the intruder until Gardaí arrived at the property. However, a significant gender gap was recorded in the findings as just 1.91% of women surveyed would be willing to get physically involved, compared to 13.28% of men.
“When it comes to protecting your home and family the urge to confront an intruder is a very understandable human response.” Says Director of Consumer Affairs Conor Faughnan. “People get justifiably angry and scared. But it’s a bad idea. You can’t know the mental state of an intruder who might even be armed. Garda advice is that you should secure yourself as best you can and call for help.”
In addition to the gender split, younger homeowners were slightly more likely than their older counterparts to tackle the intruder in the event of a burglary. While 9.19% of those under 45 stated they would attempt to physically restrain the intruder, this figure fell to 5.93% among those over 56.
Meanwhile, over a third of respondents stated they would hide and contact Gardaí instead of becoming physically involved.
37.63% of those surveyed stated that their first course of action would be to find a safe room in the house before making contact with the Gardaí. Meanwhile, a further 32.20% stated they would yell or make noise in an attempt to scare the intruder out of their home before alerting the Gardaí.
“Material goods and possessions don’t mean anything, they can be replaced,” Faughnan said. “People are beyond price. The first and only priority is the safety of you and your family. Let the Garda deal with the criminals.”
A further 16.93% of respondents stated that they would confront the intruder in a non-physical capacity and order them to leave the property before contacting Gardaí.
Are you in the market for home insurance? With AA Home Insurance you can currently get a €60 discount on any online quote as well as a €50 online shopping voucher if you take out a policy.
