Strategies for Handling Burglars in The Sims 4

Burglars have always been a part of earlier Sims games, but when The Sims 4 first came out, they were notably absent. After some time, however, these notorious thieves are back! Thanks to a free update, players can once again experience the mayhem that comes with burglaries!

This guide will cover everything you need to know about burglars in The Sims 4. Even though they are a new addition, their mechanics are similar to previous game versions. If you’re not a fan of having thieves invade your property, you can easily turn off burglar appearances in your game settings.

When Do Burglars Show Up?

Burglar visits are entirely random; without using any cheats, you can’t predict exactly when they will arrive. This randomness is why having alarms in your home is crucial. We’ll dive deeper into this soon, but alarms will inform you right away if someone attempts to break in.

Burglars will only visit during the night, so there’s no need to worry about them sneaking in while it’s light outside. Most Sims will be asleep then, so you have a good chance to catch the thief in the act. However, if your household consists of night-shift workers, be prepared for burglars to show up when the house is empty.

How to Force a Burglar to Appear

To ensure a burglar appears, start by pressing “Ctrl/Command + Shift + C” on your PC or Mac, or all four shoulder buttons on your console to open the command console. Then type in “testingcheats on.”

Next, go to the mailbox on your lot and shift-click it. For Xbox, hold B and click with A. For PlayStation, hold O and click with X.

Once the shift-click option is available, select “Schedule Burglar Visit (Debug).” This guarantees a burglar will come on the following night. Remember that since they only appear at night, if you activate this cheat in the morning, you’ll have to wait until later (around midnight) to see the results.

How to Boost Your Chances of a Burglar Visit

If you prefer not to use cheats, you can also increase the likelihood of a burglar visit by activating a new lot challenge. In Build/Buy mode, navigate to your lot’s information and go to the Traits and Challenges tab. From there, select the trophy icon where you’ll find the challenge option.

How to Keep Burglars at Bay

To protect your home, set up security systems and alarms, just like in real life. In Build/Buy Mode, you can purchase an alarm called the Alertz Burglar Alarm, which costs $85. Remember to buy a separate alarm for each door leading outside rather than relying on just one for the entire house. This also applies if your lot has multiple buildings. Essentially, place an alarm near every accessible entry point.

When the alarm sounds, it will wake up anyone in the house (if they are asleep). The sound itself can scare off the burglar, but you can also choose to confront them directly.

How to Handle Burglars

So a burglar is on your property—what should you do next? If there’s no alarm system, wake up your Sims! Clicking on the burglar will reveal three action options:

• Fight!
• Call the Police Station
• Confront the Burglar

The first time we encountered a burglar, we sent a strong Sim to confront them, and we won the fight! This frightened the burglar, causing them to flee. You can also call the police, but keep in mind that there’s a chance the burglar might still get away with some of your belongings. The police won’t arrive immediately, so you might witness the robbery.

How to Disable Burglar Visits

If you’re not a fan of burglars, there’s good news! You can easily turn off burglar visits. Just go into the settings menu, navigate to the gameplay section, and you’ll find the option to disable burglar encounters. If you change your mind later, you can always go back to turn them on again.