- Can a burglar be seen? High foliage can conceal a burglar, making it easier for him to enter your home unseen. Trim hedges and trees to a reasonable height to make it difficult for a burglar to approach your house unseen.
- If you have rear and/or side gates, make sure you fit a secure padlock.
- Check your locks regularly and ensure that they are appropriate for all doors, including fitting your back/side door(s) with the same security as your front door. Ideally, all external doors should be fitted with a British Standard 5-lever lock.
- If you have French windows and/or patio doors, fit appropriate secondary locks to top and bottom, locking onto head and sill.
- Fit window locks to ALL opening windows, even the small top windows and don't forget the downstairs cloakroom (loo, john or 'what-ever-you-call it')! And remember to lock them!
- External security lighting is a good deterrent. This is inexpensive and can be easily installed to both front and rear of the house.
- Although only around 2% of burglaries are committed via roof access, it is still important to secure your roof. Make sure your loft access is fitted with a secure latch, lock and bolts.
- If possible, fit a good reputable alarm system. If a burglar sees a good alarm system in place, he'll think twice. If he takes the risk to enter your home, your neighbours will soon be alerted to an intruder forcing him to run.
- If you have valuables, fit a discreet wall or floor safe.
- If you are not already a member of a local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, think seriously about joining or even setting one up. Statistics available from the National Neighbourhood Watch Association show significant decrease in burglary rates where schemes operate.
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