Burglary is a horrible thing for anyone to experience. Every year, many homes and businesses fall victim to the traumatising event of break-ins and thefts. Essex ranks as number 15 for crime rate on the list of counties in England, suffering 8.3k reported burglaries in the last year.
With Christmas coming up, we all want to enjoy the festivities with loved ones without the worry of theft or burglary. We should be able to enjoy food, laugher, and exchanging presents in our homes while feeling safe and secure. It is a sad fact that December sees the most burglaries, with Direct Line reporting this month to be the one with the highest insurance claims.
Here, we look at some measures you can take to ensure you are protected against becoming a target for burglary:
Alarm Systems – This must be first on the list. An alarm should scare off intruders as soon as it is activated. It will also alert your neighbours, yourself, or the police of the break-in.
CCTV– This is the best way of catching any criminals on your property and will also increase your chances of recovering stolen items.
Keep valuables, and presents, out of sight – It is advised all year round to ensure you do not have valuables on display. At Christmas time this is even more important. Make sure gifts are hidden, and nothing of high value can be seen from the outside of your property.
Avoid oversharing on social media – As tempting as it is to show your friends and family the gifts you have received, do not do this. You are announcing that you have valuable items in your home. Checking in to places when you are out could also alert potential criminals to the fact your home may be empty.
The lights are on – leave at least one light on when you go out. This is an old trick but still effective.
Use a safe – If you have items that are of value, a lockable safe is strongly advisable.
If you have a business property, a manual patrol system would be the best option for security, as well as alarms and CCTV.
For more information on how A Matter Of Patrols can help make your premise safe, contact us on 0800 2922667
