Burglaries in Netherlands rising for first time in years

For the first time in years, the number of burglaries in the Netherlands increased in 2016. Last year a total of 64 thousand burglary claims were filed with insurers, compared to 61 thousand in 2015, according to figures from the Dutch association of insurers VNV, ANP reports.

Limburg had the most burglaries in 2016, relatively speaking. Insurers in the province received 11 burglary claims per thousand households. Noord-Brabant came in second place with 10.6 per thousand households. The fewest burglaries happened in Zeeland and Friesland, with 5.1 claims per thousand households in both provinces.

The chance of your house being broken into is greatest in Eindhoven, Breda, and Almere. The smallest chance of burglary is in Leiden and Amsterdam.

Burglaries always increase over the Christmas holidays, according to VNV. Many people celebrate Christmas away from home, or leave their doors open when watching the New Year's fireworks. During the festive season, insurers receive of around 350 burglary claims per day, compared to an average of 175 per day.