Raise in Burglaries
Criminals takings were down by £ 103 million in 2020, due to fewer burglar opportunities as lockdown meant people spent more time on their property. This meant an assumed raise in burglar activities for the following years.
Are you being cased?
This is of paramount importance but there are a couple of other considerations. For example, how do you know if your home is being targeted? It’s a depressing thought, but it’s something you should remain conscious about. Professional burglars are smarter than you think.
They do their research, just like any other professional. Casing the joint describes how they view a property and look for weaknesses, blindspots and more importantly find out whether the property has any security arrangements and when the house is likely to be unoccupied. Casual house breakers or ‘chancers’ will probably spend less time staking out their target and just concentrate on the deterrents; whether you have an alarm or a dog and where the easiest place would be to slide open a window or force a door.
We are not going to quote statistics because they can be misconstrued and are always readily available on the internet. What we are going to centre on is what steps you should take to make sure you and your family and possessions are safe.
Someone at the door
Believe it or not, the most common place an intruder breaks into a property is through the front door. This is because someone arriving at your front door is considered more socially acceptable than creeping around the back or side of the house. And don’t think a doorbell alarm is going to safeguard this approach. Whilst they are being well marketed and some are more effective than others, there are some that can be easily bypassed or disabled with a WiFi jammer and if your wifi goes down you do not have protection.
About 75% of burglaries will occur when the property is empty but that leaves around 25% of burglaries happen when the house is actually occupied. Much of this depends on what security arrangements are in place; if you have a dog or anything else that is going to alert an intruder. The intruder will depend on their homework before they decide on their strategy.
Surprisingly most incidents happen between 10am and 3pm and literally takes between 10/15 minutes for the perpetrator to be in and out. Unless they have their eyes on something you own in particular they are usually in and out, causing as much havoc as necessary and taking the most valuable and disposable items on show. That’s why draws are turned out, usually starting from the bottom, and they are used to finding envelopes of cash taped to the bottom so don’t think that’s safe.
- The Lock & Load Light Camera lights up and records immediately
- Deterrence Camera Prevents Crime before it happens
- The Light Camera is set up to protect and record while emitting an audible warning
Longer days and lighter nights
Reported incidents are inclined to increase during the spring/summer months and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon, especially when we take into consideration the social impact the pandemic has had. Some people have found it very difficult to make ends meet and have been particularly affected; an excellent breeding ground for those looking to find an alternative solution. Perpetrators prefer to do their work when there is a natural cover of bushes and trees.
The best advice we can give is to remain cognisant and aware as much as you can. Take notice of your surroundings and if you see someone in a car or on foot that seems to be taking an interest in the area or specific properties just spend a little more time looking at their actions, don’t be alarmed if they see you, after all, you are doing nothing wrong and if they hurry away it should arouse your suspicion even more. Take or remember the registration/colour/make of their vehicle.
This is sometimes easier said than done when you are trying to unload your shopping or attend to the kids’ car seats but this is the time you should be even more aware of your surroundings.
Pay particular attention to vehicles with tinted windows and if you think they have been there for an unusual amount of time do not be scared of telephoning the police who may just be able to drive by and make their presence known.
The other safe way of securing this information is to have high quality security cameras that are programmed to pick out and record any unusual presence.
Another favourite is for them to go door to door soliciting work or pretending they are from a local government department or utility company. When they come to your door ask to see their credentials and read them. If you have a smartphone photograph the ID. They won’t have an objection if they are genuine. Make sure they see they are on camera and that you have a security system fitted.
If you allow them access into your home be very sure you are not allowing them to take a better look at your possessions and your security systems. The days of having a chat over a nice cup of tea need careful consideration before an act of human kindness.
Notwithstanding that, we attend site visits that are confirmed through our office and give us the opportunity to discuss things with you, as well as review any security system you have, or think you need. We will survey your property and listen to your own ideas and tell you what we can offer as an NSI/NACOSS Gold Company with over 40 years of experience. Our range of the most modern, latest security recording systems designed for your particular need will be hard to be beaten by anyone and with our annual service agreement will be accepted by all insurance companies.
For more information, or to book a site visit, please contact our friendly staff at 0208 364 1717 or email us direct at [email protected] or our Contact Page