The burglar in The Sims 4 is Robin Banks, and the reliable way to stop her is a Burglar Alarm placed on your lot, upgraded by a handy Sim so it calls the police on its own. Without an alarm your Sims can still phone the police themselves, fight her, or (with the right pack) chase her off as a dog, vampire, werewolf, spellcaster, scientist or Servo. Below we cover how Robin operates, what she can and cannot take, every defense in the base game, the pack-specific ones, and what happens if you befriend her or she dies.
Who Robin Banks Is and When She Strikes
Burglars returned to the base game in the free February 25, 2025 update (PC 1.113.277.1030, console 2.08), alongside the Businesses and Hobbies expansion. Per the official patch notes, the burglar robs residential lots and, if you own Businesses and Hobbies, Small Business venues too, and can get into “dramatic fights” or make an escape. The developer’s burglar dev diary names her Robin Banks and confirms she only strikes at night, whether your Sims are asleep or awake, and that a tense new music track plays while she is on the lot.
Visits are deliberately rare. The dev diary says the team wanted them to “stand out”, so a household can go a long time without seeing her. Verified against the patch notes, nothing since 2025 has changed that: the only burglar-specific fix we found is an April 29, 2025 note repairing her sack’s animation.
What she can take: household objects, the stuff you bought in Buy Mode. What she cannot take, per the developer FAQ: most Build Mode objects, including plants planted directly in the ground, windows, lights and elevators.
The Burglar Alarm and Its Upgrades
The Burglar Alarm is a base game object. Open Build Mode, search the catalog for “Burglar Alarm”, and place it on a Residential lot or a Small Business Venue lot (the two lot types the notes say it works on). The developer is explicit that “the only way to guarantee the police get to the crime scene in time is by installing a Burglar Alarm”: a manual call may be too slow.
A Sim with Handiness can upgrade the alarm. The dev diary lists three upgrades:
- Automatically call the police, so nobody has to wake up and dial.
- Reduce the chance of it breaking, because a broken alarm does nothing.
- Zap the burglar, which forces her to drop the stolen goods on the spot.
Upgrades consume parts, so read our guide on how to get upgrade parts before you start. If you want burglars more often rather than less, the same update added the Heist Havoc lot challenge (Build Mode, lot info panel): Robin visits more frequently and, in the developer’s words, “the trusty alarms have a mind of their own”.
What Ordinary Sims Can Do
Without any pack, your Sims have three real options once she is inside:
- Call the police. Use the phone. Police Officers returned with this update and arrive in uniform; the dev diary warns they “may or may not catch the thief” if the call comes late.
- Fight her. Any adult Sim can start a one-on-one fight. Per the developer, Sims who have been “hitting the gym” win more often, so Fitness matters. Our skills guide covers raising it quickly.
- Let her go and rebuy. Stolen objects are gone. Replacing them is just a Buy Mode purchase, and our money guide helps if the loss stung.
Reactions vary by Sim. Teens may stop to take a selfie with her before running; Agnes Crumplebottom and Bonehilda stand and fight. The developer counts over 50 unique reactions across the base game and 17 packs, plus 37 player-directed interactions.
Pack-Specific Defenses
The dev diary lists which occult and special Sims get their own answer to Robin, and which pack each needs:
- Dogs chase her right off the lot (Cats and Dogs). No training is required.
- Werewolves intimidate her into leaving (Werewolves). See how to become a werewolf.
- Spellcasters have “everything from confusion spells to full-on transformations” (Realm of Magic). Our spellcaster guide gets you there.
- Servos zap her in place with their defense matrix (Discover University).
- Scientists immobilize her with the Freeze Ray (Get to Work).
- Vampires may take a “warm-blooded snack” and then command her to leave (Vampires). See how to become a vampire.
Befriending Robin, and Whether She Can Die
You can talk to Robin Banks, befriend her, and even add her to your household. If you do, the game generates a replacement burglar with the same traits but a random look and name, or promotes an existing unplayed Sim with the right traits into the role. She can also die. She does not come back, but, as with Father Winter, a new burglar with similar traits is generated to fill the job.
What the 2025 version of this guide got wrong: there is no hireable security guard, no reinforced door or lock upgrade, and no dog training step. Door locks are the ordinary base game ones, and the developer’s own advice is simply to lock up, install the alarm and let a handy Sim upgrade it. Every other Sims 4 guide we have is on the Sims hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Businesses and Hobbies for the burglar? No. The burglar, the Burglar Alarm, the Police Officer and the Heist Havoc lot challenge all came in the free base game update on February 25, 2025. The expansion only adds Small Business venues as a second target.
Does the burglar come during the day? No. Per the developer she only strikes at night, though your Sims do not have to be asleep for her to show up.
Can Robin Banks steal my plants or windows? Most Build Mode objects are safe, including plants in the ground, windows, lights and elevators. Buy Mode objects are what she is after.
Why have I never seen the burglar? Visits are rare by design. Turn on the Heist Havoc lot challenge in Build Mode if you want her to show up regularly.
Do burglar alarms break? Yes, and a broken alarm does nothing. One of the three Handiness upgrades reduces how often it breaks, and a Sim can repair it like any other object.