Recent Home Office statistics have shown that in nine out of ten crimes, nobody is charged, along comes the Tool theft Prevention Plan. Along with this, the numbers of burglaries are rising, painting nothing but a gloomy picture. Rising crimes and fewer charges mean that a solid home security prevention plan has never been more important. Prevention is clearly better than a cure, but for families who need to protect their homes and have a million and one priorities, some things can easily be forgotten.
With that in mind, Andy Palmer, owner at Grays Locksmiths, has explained his top five tips for a Tool theft Prevention Plan.
Don’t Postpone Fixes
As soon as you realise that a lock is broken or your keys have gone missing, change your locks immediately to avoid either the key falling into the wrong hands or a passer-by taking advantage. This also applies to windows – an upstairs broken window latch might not seem urgent, but in reality this is not something to put off. No matter where the window is, it’s an entrance to your home for any unwanted visitors. Don’t try and do it yourself – it’s always better to approach a professional service.
Don’t Broadcast Your Absence
We’ve all heard the Facebook party horror stories where a party invite is made public and lots of unwanted people turn up, but what about when it happens the other way around? If you broadcast to everyone on social media and talk loudly to neighbours about your upcoming holiday, you could easily find yourself a victim of burglary. Don’t take any chances, wait until after your holiday to shout about it, but confide in a few trusted neighbours to make sure that they keep an eye out for you.
Install CCTV 
CCTV has been cited as the number one deterrent for burglars for good reason – people get nervous as soon as they see cameras and they are much more likely to get caught. Sounds simple – but make sure that it is working and is regularly checked. Should you be unfortunate enough to have a burglary, you don’t want to suffer more bad luck and have the CCTV not work after investing in it!
Adopt a Layered Defence Approach
Technology can boost our security efforts in ways we never imagined, but it doesn’t mean we should replace traditional security devices. They should be used in tandem. Utilise your house alarm and your lock protocol with your smart home devices. Which leads us to…
Alexa, I’m Going Out
Using nothing but the power of your own voice, Alexa has changed the smart home game. It is often marketed for setting reminders, creating to-do’s and playing music, but it also has some impressive security credentials. In September, Amazon announced a new security feature that anyone with an Alexa device and use, called “guard mode”. Tell Alexa when you leave your house, and its smart alerts will hear the sound of breaking glass or an alarm, record the clip of the sound and send it straight to you, so you can reach out to the police as soon as possible.
We have all heard the saying “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”, but there is a lot of truth in it. By following these five steps, you can actively help your prevention efforts, and in the unlikely event that you do fall victim to a burglary, it will boost the chances of the intruder being caught.
