Home Security and Safety Tips
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Burglary is a nightmare scenario for every householder and it’s reasonable to be concerned. In the UK, a burglary takes place every 106 seconds and items to the value of £181 million are stolen from homes in London alone every year.
The average cost for a homeowner after a burglary is over £3000, with over a third of the cost relating to the expense of repairing damage to the property and time lost from work while dealing with the incident. On top of all the practical issues, the emotional costs of experiencing a home invasion are incalculable.
It’s always important to secure your home, but some types of housing are more vulnerable than others. Three-bed semi-detached homes are at the highest risk of being burgled and ground-floor flats are twice as likely to be raided than those on upper floors.
Some people are more likely to be burgled, too. Anyone can benefit from the current home security tips for the UK, but it’s especially important if:
In this post, we’ll be looking at some essential home security ideas to keep your property safe inside and out.
Security advice can seem very complex at times, so let’s start with the basics. When you’re planning home protection in the UK, it doesn’t get much more basic than having a burglar-proof front door.
Learn what security solutions we offer by visiting our main website.
uPVC doors are often less secure than timber or metal doors. This is how to secure your home if you have a uPVC front, back, or garden door.
Some house security tips are devised with specific situations in mind. Extra security devices for front doors can be especially valuable to elderly people who are rightly cautious about opening the door to strangers and can guard against burglars who pretend to be ‘just passing’.
An open window can be an open invitation. If the thought of sleeping without ventilation is too much for you, install window restrictors or sash stops, which will prevent the window from opening enough to allow entry.
This is sometimes thought of as a measure against storm damage, but there are a couple of security-related reasons why you might want to board a window.
Not sure how to do it? Check out our blog post on boarding up a window.
We’re moving up the scale in terms of security ideas for your home. Seven out of ten UK homes don’t have a burglar alarm. Some people try to save money by installing a fake alarm. Of course, the cost of a burglary will far outweigh the cost of the alarm. Some systems are simple, some are more complex, and some can be checked by your phone or monitored by the police or the security company of your choice. Find out more about your options for burglar alarms by reading a couple of blog posts about how to reset a house alarm and things to consider before buying a home security system.
In the early days of CCTV, the use of fake cameras was common. There’s no reason to adopt this approach any longer. CCTV is an affordable and reliable form of security which acts as a visible deterrent and can produce evidence in cases where a burglar is rash or unobservant enough to ignore it. If you do opt for CCTV, correct positioning is essential and you’ll need to decide if you want a wired or wireless system.
Motion sensitive lights come on if there’s movement near your house. They serve three purposes. Firstly, lights that come on as you approach the door make it easy for you to find your keys and check that the area around you is clear of strangers. Secondly, if you’re indoors, lights coming on will serve to let you know that someone is near. Lastly, and most importantly, lights that come on as the house is approached will deter a would-be burglar who was expecting to be able to hide in the shadows. It’s important that sensors are correctly placed to maximise coverage so installing them is a job you might like to leave to security professionals.
If you spend longer periods of time away from your home, especially overnight, timed lights are a great idea. A few outdoor lights that come on in the evening will create the impression that you’re at home. Indoor lights in a downstairs room in the evening, followed by bedroom lights that switch on for a short time, will create an even stronger illusion that your house is occupied.
Most would-be felons prefer not to walk down the street armed with a crowbar. It’s too easily noticed and too hard to explain. The first places they’ll look for tools to help them break into your home are your garden shed and garage. Denying burglars access to tools and ladders is an important piece of home security advice. If you use a padlock to secure your shed, make sure it’s ‘Solid Secure’ approved. As with your home, it’s better to use a couple of layers of security and make sure that windows, as well as doors, are locked and alarmed. Once your garage or shed is secure, use it to store expensive garden tools, barbecue grills, bikes, and, of course, your car.
Overgrown shrubs or large trees that obscure the view between your house and the road create hiding places for burglars. Landscape for security, keep shrubs around doorways and walkways pruned so that anyone approaching the house is visible. Be especially careful about large trees with strong branches close to upper storey windows. Burglars have been knowing to climb trees to gain access.
Household security doesn’t end with measures to keep intruders out. If someone does enter your home, you want to limit the damage they can do. Keeping valuables in unlocked cupboards is a very bad idea and a safe is much more secure than a shoebox! Along with easily liftable valuables like cash, credit cards, watches, or jewellery, burglars also look for bills or other documents that include your address or personal details. These can be used to clone your identity and even take out loans in your name. If you do invest in a safe, make sure it’s securely attached to walls or floors. A small safe that can be lifted just serves as a takeaway bonus for a criminal. Find out more about where and how to store sensitive documents by reading our article on where to store house deeds safely.
If you want to make sure that your house is safe from burglars, the best solution is to call a professional. Here at Fantastic Services, we value our customers’ desires. Whether you want to install a CCTV, install or replace a lock, or even fix a broken door – we’ve got you covered. Don’t leave your house unsecured, book your locksmith service today!
Let us handle the task professionally
Image source: Shutterstock/Andrey_Popov
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