Crime Prevention Tips

We recommend using what we call the WIDE principle when looking at how to secure your home.

Home Security

• Always close and lock doors and windows when you go out even if just for a short time – and when you go to bed at night. Don’t forget doors into garages or conservatories.
• Make sure your locks and security measures comply with your insurance requirements. More information can be found at http://www.locksmiths.co.uk.
• Keep keys, including shed and car keys, in a place where they’re not visible to anyone looking in. Don’t leave keys in the door and never hide a spare key outside.
• Keep valuables hidden and not visible from windows.
• Take photos of your valuable items for insurance purposes and keep them with your policy.
• Window locks and visible burglar alarms can act as a deterrent to criminals.
• Never leave packaging from new goods visible with your general
rubbish. Criminals may see it and target your property.
• Draw curtains in the evening and leave your lights on a timer switch if you’re going out.
• Never give your keys to anyone you do not know well.
• Never keep large amounts of cash in the house.
• Consider keeping expensive jewellery, house deeds and other important items in a home safe anchored to the brickwork.
• Register all your belongings on the national property database www.immobilise.com

Garden Security 

• Secure your garden with lockable gates and walls or substantial fencing. Thorny plants around the perimeter and trellis on top of fences make it harder for an intruder to access your garden.
• Keep your ladder and garden tools locked away, as they can be used by burglars to access your home. Keep tools inside if you do not have a garden shed.
• Remember to lock garage and shed windows and doors. Use electronic shed alarms or padlock alarms to deter thieves.
• Make sure any valuable items stored in sheds are well-secured, to a ground/wall anchor where possible.
• Store bins securely to prevent them from being used to access upstairs windows or flat roofs.
• Outside security lighting can act as a deterrent for burglars.