Lock Your Doors & Windows: don’t make it easy for a burglar! That’s the advice given by South Wales Police following a spate of home burglaries in Cardiff. Read on for tips on how to secure your home.
There has recently been a number of dwelling burglaries throughout the city through insecure windows & doors. It is important that you protect your property as best you can by taking simple steps. The majority of property crimes committed in the South Wales Police area are opportunistic and target insecure premises and vehicles. A criminal will always choose an unlocked door or window rather than smash a lock or climb a wall which is time consuming, potentially noisy and may draw attention to him/her. The following advice will help you maximise security and minimise the likelihood of you being the next victim:
- Secure all windows and doors – protecting your home doesn’t have to be expensive. Simply locking windows and doors is the best way of keeping unwanted visitors out! Remember, crime happens in the daytime too so always lock up even if you’re just nipping out or even just upstairs! It takes seconds to open a door and remove an item.
- Secure your garden – getting access to your garden is the first step, if this is made difficult then they are unlikely to bother. Always lock your gate, if you have a shed or garage then lock this too. Anti-climb paint is also good deterrent, it is a greasy black paint that doesn’t dry and can be applied to tops of walls (legal restrictions with this option, contact your local PCSO for advice).
- Don’t leave valuables on display – whether that be in your house or in your car, if it can’t be easily seen it is much less likely to be targeted. Think from a criminals point of view, choose the house with the laptop, smartphone or car keys are on the windowsill or in the porch or on a shelf by the front door.
- Security lights: security lights trigger when there is movement. If a light comes on when approaching your property the criminal is unlikely to hang around. If he can be seen he can be identified! Or dusk to dawn lights that are low energy and stay on all night.
- Alarms: burglar alarms are ideal but can be expensive. If this is an option for you then it is highly recommended. If not, window alarms are a cheaper option, as are shed alarms which can be purchased for around £20 in any hardware store and are simple to install.
- CCTV: again this can be expensive but is a very effective tool. A much cheaper option is an online web cam which is motion activated and will contact your smart phone. Or a ‘dummy’ CCTV camera which can be purchased on line or from a DIY store.
- Mark and register your property – ultra-violet pens can mark your property without being seen by the naked eye. If the worst happens and your property is stolen it is much easier to get it back to you if it is marked. Think about it, most people don’t keep track of serial numbers so if a TV is recovered we have no way of finding out who it belongs to – unless it is marked! We recommend that you record the details of your valuables with the free website immobilise.com. This website is checked when property is recovered and it is a great tool to reunite the property with its rightful owner.
If you see anyone acting suspiciously in the area, it is extremely important that you ring 999 ASAP. Slow time calls can be made through 101.