I used to live in an area that had a high burglary rate, and I was burgled seven times while I lived there. However, I found that having a "back to base" monitored alarm, and stickers on EVERY window saying this helped a lot. The last burgler we had decided that the one window without a sticker was obviously unprotected.
I went to a few of the "neighourhood watch" meetings, where they told us the statistics for the area, and gave tips and tricks.
Living in an upstairs (rather than a ground level) apartment certainly helps, and a street full of apartments tended to be burgled more than a street of mainly houses. There were also more other crimes in apartment streets - car theft... Having a dog reduces risk, and shrubs and trees hiding the front of the house are magnets for crime (the criminal has cover).