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Security

Preventing Burglaries

No one likes to be burgled, but the fact is that we are all vulnerable to burglaries. Protecting your home, family and assets is a basic human desire. Staying alert and getting security conscious is the first steps to being safe and preventing a burglary. Most preventative security measures are common sense, but there are many that we overlook, and so endanger the things we love. Here we highlight some of the obvious and not so obvious measures and ideas to try to avoid theft in your home.

Burglaries are often opportunist crimes. This means that most times a burglary will occur because the opportunity was there. Unwittingly someone made it easy for a burglar to target his or her home. Follow these steps to avoid opportunist crime:

1. put valuables away, out of sight
2. don’t leave windows open
3. close and lock doors
4. don’t leave your house key in a hidden spot – burglars will know the best hiding places

It is true that a burglar will automatically favour an unoccupied house. This means that it is in your best interests to make it look like someone is home, even when there isn’t. A few ideas to make an empty house look occupied are:

1. keeping your letterbox empty
2. leaving on lights at night
3. leaving a radio on(if it is safe to do so)

If you are planning to go away on holiday, and expect to be away for any period, consider using the services of a house sitter. And, if you can’t find a house sitter, get your community involved by asking your neighbour to check on your home.

1. use timers for lighting at night
2. ask a neighbour to park in your driveway
3. stop all deliveries to your home-newspapers and milk
4. get your neighbour to draw curtains at night and switch on lights

To help avoid break-ins get home security conscious. Home safety is about prevention; here are a few proven preventative measures:

1. install an alarm system
2. get burglar bars
3. security gates for doors
4. security lighting for nights
5. CCTV cameras on your property
6. neighbourhood watch groups and signs

It may be shocking to consider, but there are times when a burglar will watch a house and the occupants to get to know the daily routine. It is hard to prevent a premeditated crime, and in some cases unreasonable to be expected to change your lifestyle. Stay alert and aware of your surroundings when going about your daily business. Try to get neighbours involved in a neighbourhood watch. Consider getting a dog, as they are excellent at putting off evil doers. Trust your instincts and have a safe, hopefully crime-free home.