Darlington Neighbourhood Watch Association (DNHWA)

Darlington Neighbourhood Watch Association (DNHWA)

HOW TO BURGLARY PROOF YOUR HOME

As Member Support Administrator for the whole of County Durham I thought you may benenfit from a message I sent to early members of Darlington some time ago:

Some of you will have seen this article on www.ourwatch.org.uk. For those who missed it I give you a summary below that I have elaborated from my own experience:

For the perimeter of your home

#  Is the front of your house that is viewed from the road free from obstructions that limit your neighbour’s view of your home; trees, large bushes, a tall hedge or fence on the roadside, places where burglars can hide while preparing to break in. Consider clearing them away.

#  Is the garden area around the house free from the “tools” that an offender can use to break in; loose bricks or pavers, ladders, metal bars or garden equipment. Someone broke into my house using a pile of pavers I had stacked in a corner. They made a real mess of the window and interior.

#  Are sheds and garages always locked. If an offender steals from an unlocked building you are not insured.

# This is a good one. Is all packaging from new expensive items like laptops, audio equipment, TV sets, games consoles and mobiles kept hidden from view until you can personally take them to the recycling centre. Don’t leave them out for the refuse truck to be seen by potential offenders.  The best way to protect your home from thieves is to make them think you have nothing worth stealing.

#  Is your car securely locked with no visible items inside. All items should be removed from your vehicle when not in use; laptops, sat navs, dash cams, even an empty bag can be tempting. Keyless Entry vehicles are easily stolen as thieves can remotely copy access signals from your car keys. Put your car keys in a closed steel box to prevent this. If you can put your car in the locked garage this will be the best solution.

# Is access to the rear of the house made difficult by good quality locked gates and high fences. If thieves can get in and out easily you are more vulnerable. It is an offence to place broken glass or barbed wire on top of your gates or fences. You can buy wall spikes from Screwfix for £17. If your garden is open to easy access from the rear make sure your fence is at least 7 feet high with 2 feet of trellising on top to discourage attempted access.

#  Lighting is important around your home. Heat sensitive, movement activated sensors (PIRS) to switch on high powered lamps, particularly at the rear and dark sides of your home are a strong disincentive to thieves, particularly if you can link these lights to an alarm you can switch on when not at home!  Less powerful lights at the front can be similarly installed.  What about CCTV cameras? If you can afford to install these you will appear to have plenty of high value stuff in your home. Thieves can hide their faces, the only advantage is if the cameras call the police and send you a message.

For the inside of your home.

# Are keys to your home kept in a safe place, not under the door mat or stuck in the lock on the inside of your doors. Your keys must be easily accessible in an emergency with all your family knowing where they are.  The doors should be kept locked even when you are home. Are all windows closed and locked when you are not at home. Modern windows can be locked when partly open to provide ventilation when you are home. If you have euro-cylinder locks on your UPVC doors do they meet TS007 3 star or Sold Secured Diamond Standard SS312. 

# Do you have a burglar alarm and do you always use it, even when in bed? Radio operated PIR room sensors can now be installed that require no wires, except to the central control box and outside box. When the alarm is active a pulse light on the outside alarm box tells thieves your alarm is on. Get to trust your neighbours and when you are away notify them so they can call the police if your alarm is activated. Leaving a key with a neighbour will assist in any investigation.

# Inexpensive timer switches that plug into power points can switch on lights in the hallway and in other rooms on the first floor as it gets towards evening, or, for a ground floor only property, in the rear rooms that have their blinds drawn. Having blinds drawn in the front rooms is a give-away that you are not home. Having a timer switch on the TV is a good option but all these timers should go on and off at different times around bedtime with some in the bedrooms switching on again for 10 minutes at different times throughout the night to indicate some activity.

# Keep out of view expensive items such as laptops, mobiles and jewellery, especially from your front ground floor windows. When you leave your home for a few days consider hiding your laptop as it has irreplaceable content like photos and data or take it with you. Make sure charging cables are not seen as this indicates you have something to steal

# Photograph all you valuable items, jewellery, expensive ornaments, laptops, etc. in case of a break in as proof of ownership to your insurer. 

But if you can’t afford to do some of these things just give the impression that you have nothing worth steeling and thieves will ignore you.

Richard Beaumont

On behalf of Darlington Neighbourhood Watch Association