Burglary

• Use UV or indelible pens, postcode etching or chemically coded systems to mark your property & make it difficult for thieves to sell it on.
• Register your valuables for free on the Immobilise website: www.immobilise.com. If they’re stolen, it will allow you to tell the police & your insurer.
• Protect your bike by joining BikeRegister, the UK’s national bicycle marking and registration scheme, which makes your bike a harder target for thieves and could help to reunite you with it in the event it is stolen.
• Photograph highly valuable items such as jewellery, paintings & antiques. Keep the pictures in a safe place, outside your home.

Criminals watch out for houses they think are empty and unprotected. Make their lives harder by doing the following.

• If you can, fit burglar alarms with flashing lights and sounders at the front & back of your property.
• Switch lights or a radio on when you go out. You can buy timer devices to do this automatically.
• Even if you’re only going out for a few minutes, check that all doors and windows are properly closed and locked.
• Make sure side and back gates are secure.
• Don’t leave garden tools outside, keep ladders out of sight  - and ensure sheds, garages and outbuildings are locked.
• Fit tamper-proof automatic outside security lights.
• Even when you’re at home, try not to leave accessible windows open at night.
• If you’re going away on holiday, ask a neighbour to keep an eye on your home, take in any milk and newspaper deliveries, and maybe park on your drive.
• Christmas is a key time for burglaries, with many houses full of new and valuable presents. Don’t alert burglars by leaving present packaging outside – put it all in your recycling box, out of sight.
• Don’t let yourself become a victim of a Distraction Burglary, where more than one person calls at your door, trying to dupe you into letting one caller in to burgle you whilst you are distracted by another one.