If you are going away for a break this spring or summer get a neighbour to do simple things like put you bins out on collection day. If your house looks occupied there is less of a chance it will get broken into. If it snows (which is possible before May) get them to clear your path.
Summer is coming, or at least summer should be coming in a few weeks: Time to get out the BBQ and start burning food to a crisp. It’s great, you set up the BBQ in the back garden, take out the mountains of sausages and burgers (usually bought cheaply with about 10% meat, but who is going to notice when they have been frazzled) and the packs of beer, lager, cider and cheap wine into the back garden and start cooking, eating and drinking. You leave the front or side open or unlocked whilst you chew on multi-calorie, heart attack inducing morsels so that your guest can pop in and use the loo (frequently after drinking the gallons of alcohol).
The following day take several antacid tablets and a few pills for the hangover; then you start to complete the insurance claim form for all the items which went missing when someone you didn’t know popped into your house with no intention of using the loo. Your claim form may start “We left the door open and the house unattended…..”, the insurance company letter is likely to start “It’s was your fault…no payout”. Those very cheap sausages and burgers now begin to sound very expensive.
Of the six burglaries recorded between 16th Feb and 16th March 50% were through insecure doors, in one case not only was the house broken into but they stole a vehicle as well.
There appears to be a company operating in the area claiming to be working for or with the police on increasing security in homes. It seems this company is economical with the truth and are giving the police cause for concern. Beware of who you deal with – especially cold callers.
I was on a bus coming out of Leeds the other day when a mobile phone rang two seats behind me. It was answered by a middle age lady who spoke as though she was talking to her friend on two tin cans with a piece of string between them. After a short discussion on the weather she began to tell her friend about her up-coming holiday. She told them where she was going, where she was flying from and what date. The call ended and a couple of stops later she got off the bus in a residential area.
Now had I been a villain, I would have followed her at a discrete distance to her house. I would then be in possession of her address AND the dates the house would be empty. Now you wouldn’t be that careless would you?????????.
Burglars don’t like to be seen; the dark nights are a bonus for them. The icing on their cake is when they find a house in complete darkness with plenty of shadows to hide in.
If you are going out, fit at least one internal light with a timer, preferably in more than one room.
Fit outside lights to dark areas such as the back an d patio doors.
A light that comes on as people come up the path or drive is also a good deterrent.
It seems that one reaction to being broken into is to fit a door chain. I’ve got news for you; after you have been burgled is too late.
Some people, the elderly or infirm in particular are reluctant to use a door chain in case they fall or collapse and cannot get to the door. And this can be a problem. People often give keys to a relative or neighbour just in case something does happen and if there is a door chain on they still cannot get in without causing damage to the door: Often substantial damage. But there is an answer.
There is a door chain available which has a key and which can be opened from the outside. The chain works like any other and can be put on or taken off without the key from the inside. One additional benefit is that a person leaving the house can put the chain on from the outside as they leave. This means that the elderly residents doesn’t have to leave their chair to see them out and the person leaving is secure in the knowledge that the chain is providing that little bit of extra security which often makes the difference between being burgled or not.
They are not expensive and you are buying not just a piece of metal, but piece of mind. People have asked if they can be fitted to UPVC doors. Yes they can. The secret is to use the right type of screws, needle point for just UPVC and Self-drilling for frames with aluminium inner frame. If in doubt seek advice.
The Crime Prevention Panel have recently had concerns about shed security and the need to secure sheds. When a person is asked why they do not look their sheds, their answer is usually is "There is nothing worth stealing in the shed, only a few old garden tools".
OK – So the tools are not valuable; but a garden folk or spade makes a very good implement for forcing a door or window.
Have you a open house? Are your doors and windows secure?
There have been a number of crimes recently where ‘suspects unknown’ have gained entry though an insecure door or window.
The police carried out an exercise in a near-by well-to-do area which shall remain nameless (It begins with B and ends in hope) where they tried house doors and entered the property to surprise the residents if the doors were unlocked. Out of 180 houses 18 were insecure. That’s 10% of houses which could have been entered by a burglar instead of the police. Would Yeadon or Rawdon have proved more secure? If the police had tried your door would they have got in? If a burglar tried your door, would they be able to get in? Well – Would they ?????
During April and May there were a number of entries made into properties where the doors and/or windows were insecure. You probably paid a lot of money for your locks, it’s a waste of money not to use them.
Did you know that West Yorkshire Fire Service fit smoke alarms and give home safety advice FREE…Yes I did say free. This is not just a service for the elderly, vulnerable or disabled, it applies to virtually everyone.
To arrange for a free check and fitting in your home call 0800 5874536 or contact your local fire station. Very often it’s not the fire that kills people, it’s the smoke so it’s well worth a call.
Are your upstairs windows vulnerable?
Can a thief climb your drainpipe to gain access to your house?
Are you aware that there is a substance called anti-climb paint?
Anti-climb paint is a substance which does not dry and which makes drainpipes slippery and almost impossible to climb. Furthermore it leaves a stain on the clothing of anyone coming into contact with it.
It might not be advisable to use it at ground level (unless you like washing your clothes everyday) but it could be very useful and cost-effective if used a few feet from the ground.
Do you leave your door open when you go down the garden to your rubbish bin? It only takes a few seconds for an opportunist thief to nip into your house and take your handbag/car keys/house keys etc.
In "Shed Light On It (Sept 2008)" below, it mentions the value of having a security light in or on your garden shed. People are still leaving their sheds locked and their tools outside where they can be stolen or used to gain entry to houses.
Just another reminder to the ‘allottmenteers’ with green fingers (and green anything else for that matter), that this advice applies to sheds and greenhouses on allotments as well as those in your garden.
Plot your security so that
thieves can’t plot to relieve you of the valuable garden tools from your plot
Forget all the myths that a burglar is some type of “Master Criminal” who cases the joint studying your movements for weeks. In the world away from television a burglar is usually a young man looking for the easiest way into a home without being seen or disturbed – Take reasonable precautions and stay vigilant and most of them will simply give up and move on.
If you do not have glass in your front door, fitting a spy hole door viewer will help.
Alternatively, get into the habit of always looking through a window near the door to see who is calling.
An outside light over your door will enable you to see a caller if it is dark. Position the light so that it would light up the caller’s face, rather than make a silhouette.
The Addition of a door chain means you can open your door a couple of inches whilst still being secure
Can people see you are on holiday? Have you got a glass panel in the bottom half of your door? If yu have, any build up of mail can be seen by anyone who is interested in empty houses. If you are going away, ask a trusted neighbour to go in and move your mail out of sight each day.
Leave your ladders insecure in your garden - The thieves will use them to gain entry into your house and shout "Success" as they leave with your treasured possessions - sorry ex-treasured possessions.......
If you put a light in your shed which works on a motion detector, not onlywill you scare off thieves, you will be able to see what you are doing as soon as you go into the shed.
Great on Autumn and Winter evenings and no accidently standing on spades, rakes, plant pots, jars of home brew.
Yes believe it or not that's what some people do in their sheds.