Burglar

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A burglar is a Sim (an NPC in The Sims,The Sims 2 and The Sims 3), who will sneak onto a lot when all Sims are sleeping, or off the lot for some reason, most often during the night, and attempt to steal items from the household. The burglar in The Sims was male, and known only as "Some Sneaky Sim". In The Sims 2 or The Sims 3, burglars can be either male or female. Burglars can steal possessions of any size, and will often steal the most valuable items on the lot. Burglars can be arrested by the police if they are summoned quickly enough - the only way to ensure that the police are called in time is to install burglar alarms. If the lot doesn't have an alarm, Sims can call the police, but the police may not arrive in time to stop the burglar from escaping with the Sim's possessions, so it's always a good idea to buy alarms as soon as possible. In all games, it is impossible to enter build mode or buy mode after a burglar enters the lot, so it is important that players properly secure the lot before a burglar arrives.

Note: If a sleeping sim has the Light Sleeper trait, he or she will wake up immediately if a burglar is present.

The Sims
In The Sims, burglars are very rare and will most likely only appear if the selected family is wealthy and/or has expensive objects in their home. However, families with little money may also be robbed. They will appear at around 3:00AM. Buglars are stricly uninteractable in the game and were designed specifically to rob houses while the entire household are all sleep. Because of this, if the player tries to wake up a Sim while there is a buglar, they will never be able wake up on time to see the buglar at all. However, there will be rare ocassions where the buglar may arrive on the lot while at least one Sim is awake. But even if the player tries to get their Sim to see the buglar, they will be able to interact, panic or try to fight off the buglar. The only other Sim that can interact with the buglar is the police.

Buglars will steal the closest and most expensive objects they can find. Installing a burglar alarm in the home will not prevent a burglar from entering the lot, however if one happens to do so, the police will arrive and take him away. The police officer will thank the family and will give them a small amount of money for assisting the law. Despite this, the burglar may have already taken one or two items by the time the police officer approaches him. These items will be kept as evidence, and not returned, but the family will be reimbursed for them. Sometimes, a family will be reimbursed for an item that the burglar did not manage to steal.

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, a burglar who enters a lot will "case" the house and lot, looking for the most expensive items. If the burglar trips an alarm, this may give the police time to respond before the burglar can steal anything.

Some Sims, particularly Fortune Sims, often have "getting something stolen" as a fear. If someone in the household encounters the Burglar, they will often react with fright. When/if the police arrive, the officer will attempt to apprehend the burglar by fighting him/her; if successful, the burglar will surrender, but if the officer is defeated, the burglar will escape. With The Sims 2: Open for Business, Sims with a Silver or Gold Robotics Badge can use the Robot Crafting Station to craft SentryBots, which are designed to patrol a house and electrocute (stunning, not killing) any burglars that may enter until the police can arrive. When a burglar comes onto a lot, all Sims on the lot will have the "Burglar!" memory, even if the burglar is captured.

Something that is useful to have in mind is that, on rare occasions, the player can immediately go to buy mode or build mode if the burglar has just entered the lot and the game has not picked up on it. This can be very helpful if it can be managed, but it is not something that should be counted on. In most games, there will be a little pause right before the burglar arrives. This can also help determine when the burglar is about to arrive.

NPC burglars may appear on community lots, and in The Sims 2: Open for Business, may visit an owned business. While they will likely be dressed as burglars, they may be there to shop, not steal - so don't call the police unless they steal something.

Tips
With The Sims 2: Nightlife, a car with an alarm installed can serve as an outdoor alarm. It will go off if a burglar comes within range of it, even if the burglar doesn't walk past the car. Since a car will often be one of the more expensive objects on a lot, a burglar may come within range of the alarm as they "case" the lot.

With The Sims 2: Pets, werewolves can fight the burglar like a cop. The burglar will attempt to run if he/she loses, but steals items more quickly if he wins. This can be a good distraction until the cops arrive.

With The Sims 2: Apartment Life, the butler will immediately call the police whenever a burglar is seen.

If you have been robbed, once it happens, do your Sims a favor, and buy a burglar alarm! On rare occasions, if the burglar gets away, he/she can "tell" the other robbers about the house and more may show up!

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3, playable Sims can become burglars, something not possible in previous games. There are two ways for a Sim to burgle other households: they can either have the Kleptomaniac trait which allows them to take 3 items from a property they're visiting at night, or they can become a thief through the Criminal career track. Just because the police are called doesn't mean that the burglar will be caught. The burglar and officer will fight, and if the burglar wins, they're home free! This only happens in The Sims 3.

There are many ways to counter a burglar in The Sims 3:
 * Call the police.
 * Install a burglar alarm.
 * Have the Brave trait and fight the burglar yourself.
 * Have the Can Apprehend Burglar hidden trait.

Player notes

 * Home owners can set the burglar free while the police are inspecting the house. Afterward, the cop will give the Sim a stern warning to not set burglars free.
 * There is a hidden trait called Burglar.
 * There are also burglars in The Sims 3: World Adventures locations. So set the alarms up at vacation homes too.
 * Burglars will freak out when the alarm goes off.

Late Night
It has been said that something funny will happen when a burglar attempts to rob a house with an electric phone.