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Good morning, I hope you are well. As we move into warmer months, and as a reminder for home security, please be aware of the below methods by which you can make your house more secure. As ever, options are subject to personal preference, but being aware of various methods may help you to take steps to secure your home: Consider placing bins inside your back garden, so they cannot be used to climb over your garden fence from the front of the property.Keep doors and windows, closed, locked and secure when you are not at homeLock your doors properly, historically offenders have gained entry via implements being put through letterboxes to hook out keys , or to pull down the handles from inside. To help prevent this, locking your door from inside using a key, or the thumb turn will massively increase the difficulty of this task. Please make sure keys are then not in view. This is a suggestion often coupled with fire safety advice- some residents chose not to follow point 3 because they prefer to know they can leave the house easily if there is a fire, others decide to place their keys in a place they can easily find them so they can use them in the unfortunate case of a fire. It also makes sense to ask residents to check their fire and smoke alarms regularly whilst addressing this point.Make use of house burglary alarms / shed alarms / outhouse alarms / window alarms.Home cctv systems to help deter offenders, as well as capturing evidence should someone attempt something.Ask a trusted neighbour and friend to keep an eye on your home if you are awayCancel milk / deliveries which would build up on your doorstep alerting others to you being away from the propertyCan you isolate your garden tap? If so, it's worth while turning this off whilst you're away; garden taps can be turned on and then revisited to see if they have been turned off again- another indicator that someone isn't home.Timer plugs for lights and radios to give the illusion that you are home.Reporting things that don't seem right- 999 for emergencies, 101 and online are the best methods. You can also attend front desks for historical reporting.Security lighting- although be aware that lights can be set off via other means- animals, leaves etc.Remove valuables from cars ( items of value, and documents!) The above list isn't exhaustive, however we would like to encourage residents to consider if there are any methods, easy - complex, free to pricey, where home security can be improved. If you would like any further crime prevention ideas, please do not hesitate to reply. Many thanks PC Annette Barnett |
