Dear Resident, NAG is working on the three topics residents suggested were of concern when the group was set up. Burglary is one – and we hope you find this leaflet of use.                        

A   Guide   to  Home   Security

       The following is drawn from a Home Office Pamphlet about preventing burglary

SECURE YOUR HOME

·        Always lock outside doors and windows when you are out – even if only in the back garden.

·        Fit BS five-lever mortice locks and rimlocks to external doors.

·        Fit a door-chain on your front door.

·        Fit window locks downstairs, and on easily accessible upstairs windows.

·        If you have patio doors, seek advice on how to prevent these being sprung open. Have anti-lift locking devices fitted to stop them being removed.

·        Ensure double doors such as French windows are both secured into the frames- mortise bolts are ideal for this

·        Consider the use of tempered glass double-glazing – particularly downstairs.

·        Fit closed shackle padlocks and bolt-through hasps to sheds, and ensure garden tools are locked away and ladders out of sight and secured to an external wall

DETER THE BURGLAR

·        Fit good burglar alarms, NSI or SSAIB approved, and use them – whenever you go away from the house. Use a “group design” that allows the ground floor to be alarmed when the family is sleeping upstairs.

·        Fit security lights around your house, triggered by external movement. Burglars can feel vulnerable if they are strongly illuminated.

·        Use timer switches around the house, attached to lights or lamps. This will give the impression that the house is occupied.

·        Use your door chain. Do not open your door wide to strangers until you have decided they are who they say they are.

·        Do not leave house or car keys where they can be seen from outside. Thieves have various ways of reaching them. Certainly, never leave house keys outside, for example under flowerpots.

WHEN YOU ARE AWAY FOR A PERIOD

·        Stop any newspaper deliveries

·        Stop mail delivery, using the Post Office “Keepsake”, or ask a friend or neighbour to check mail is not piling up, and look out for any peculiar happenings when you are away.

AND – be a good neighbour yourself, watch out for any suspicious persons and   

            call the police if you think fit.

The actions above cannot eliminate the risk of burglary completely, but can go a considerable way to make it more difficult for a burglar to enter your property.