http://www.startribune.com/local/west/123030203.html
When this burglar's photograph was taken, he thought he had effectively disabled the home's security system. But he is still able to commit new burglaries, as no one has been able to identify him so far.
"Stewart E. Pesheck, 42, of Minneapolis was arrested on June 9 during a traffic stop in Minneapolis."
It's still an interesting example of the futility of most security attempts. The story notes the earlier surveillance photos but doesn't mention how much they helped.
Furthermore, there's the small matter of proof. Even if you happen to see the person who robbed your house and you locate them a couple days later, it can be hard to prove that they were the criminal. A photo solves this problem nicely.
Anyway, this combined with the fact that in the city many buildings are apartments and not houses (and so you need to climb to get in) means that thieves don't steal large things often.
However the one that broke into my parent's house searched a few areas in the bedroom and successfully found the hidden safe, and proceeded to break into it.
One could eventually get in, of course, but not in the timeframe of a typical burglary. Same problem with regard to moving it off-site.
You put an easy to open fake safe in a clandestine but still fairly obvious location (eg: behind a picture frame). Sort of like a real life honeypot.
You hook up a surveillance system pointing to the safe or maybe even inside the safe that triggers when the safe moves or opens. Maybe hide a gps chip inside the safe (they are tiny these days).
Bam, you have a photo of the criminal, time of the crime, and you get alerted instantly and silently. Chances are you or the police can interfere in time or you'll have some sort of lead on the criminal since you know what they look like but they don't even know you're after them already.