West Yorkshire Police has launched a new campaign to encourage everyone to think about their home security.
The campaign is titled ‘Take it from them before they take it from you’ as it features quotes from convicted burglars about what they look for when going to burgle a property…
[private]1. Keep them locked out, be secure
“I think people are more security conscious than ever, but they still leave doors and windows unlocked or open. This is a simple thing that would help to put a burglar off or otherwise it’s easy for us and you’re done, dusted and gone before they realise.”
2. What are you advertising? Keep it hidden
“They should hide valuables and have nothing on show, ‘specially in the kitchen. Why would I go into a house if I didn’t know there was anything in there worth having?”
3. Is anyone home? Make it look lived in
“I’ve never done a house when I’ve seen the TV on ‘cos you know someone is in. Lights on upstairs puts me off ‘cos you don’t know if someone is in or not.”
4. An alarm is only any good if you use it!
“Sometimes you get opportunities if you’re walking an area – someone might leave their house as you’re passing and you know they haven’t set the alarm as you can’t hear it setting itself. I’ve waited five or ten minutes and then gone back and burgled the house”
5. Got a garage? Then why not use it?
“The first thing that would attract me to a house is if they’ve got a nice car, ‘cos even if I wasn’t going to take the car I know they’d have nice stuff inside. They should use their garage if they’ve got one.”
6. You might be on holiday but they’re not
“You can tell if folk are on holiday ‘cos all the blinds are closed or there’s mail in the letterbox, papers sticking out or sometimes milk on the step. I just look through a window to see if I can see mail on the floor. If the blinds or curtains are closed a few days on the trot you know they’re away.”
Top tips to keep your home secure:
Keep your doors and windows locked even when you’re in – burglars will try doors to find one that is unlocked.
You should keep doors and windows locked, even when you are in the house and when you get home. Try to change your habit if you don’t lock your door behind you.
Make your home look lived in – use timer switches or leave your television on when you’re not home.
Always remember to switch on your burglar alarm if you have one.
Keep valuables out of view – burglars will look through windows to see if there is anything worth stealing.
If you have a garage, use it to store your car – burglars will look at your car to judge whether to break in the house for the keys or whether your house might contain items they would want to steal.
Cancel the milk and newspapers when you go on holiday and find a trusted neighbour, friend or relative to move your post and open and close blinds and curtains.
Door chimes and burglar alarms will deter a burglar from entering your property.
Being a victim of sneak-in burglary can have both emotional and financial effects. High value goods are costly to replace if stolen, and items such as phones and cameras often hold information with sentimental value such as photos, which cannot be replaced.
Keep doors and windows locked when in the garden having BBQs, gardening, hanging out the washing, etc.
Don’t leave garden tools or furniture outside, as they can be used by burglars to enter your property.
Dispose of packaging for expensive items properly; don’t advertise what is in your house.
Register your property on www.immobilise.com so that if it is stolen and recovered by the Police it can then be returned to you.
Download free tracking software onto mobile phones and laptops.
For more information about home security call 101 and ask to speak to your local Crime Prevention Officer or follow us on Twitter using #wypburglary.[/private]
