When darkness falls, that’s the time when most of us start thinking about locking doors and checking that our homes are safe and our belongings are protected, but the reality is that most burglaries actually happen in daylight hours.
Thieves are opportunistic and will take advantage of any lapse in security – particularly when the property is unoccupied during the day because it gives them a bit more time to do their dirty deeds.
The trick is to be proactive and sensible about home security at all times of the day and night and put in place measures that deter would-be thieves from choosing your property as a target.
Here are a few simple things you can do to reduce your chances of becoming a burglary victim:
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Make sure you have quality locks on your doors and windows, including those on your shed and garage. Keep them locked all the time and use deadbolts on access doors for added protection. If you have roller shutters or security screens, use them.
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Don’t leave spare keys ‘hidden’ outside. Leave them with a neighbour or a friend or install a keyless locking or smart locking system.
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Ensure valuables like jewellery, laptops, tablets, mobile phones and passports are safe and secure (and if you’re going to hide them somewhere, avoid the obvious places like in a box in a cupboard or in the back of a drawer!).
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Install motion sensor lights to illuminate the exterior around your home and driveway.
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If you’re going away, redirect your mail or arrange for someone to empty your postbox regularly. Remember to suspend newspaper deliveries, have your lawn mown regularly so the property doesn’t look uninhabited and get a neighbour to park their car in your driveway. If possible, install a timer on an interior light to give the impression that someone’s at home at night.
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Keep shrubbery trimmed back so that burglars can’t use the vegetation as a hiding place.
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Make your property visible from the street.
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Keep ladders and other garden tools locked away, so that thieves can’t use them to gain entry to your home.
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Join your local Neighbourhood Watch. It’s said that membership of these type of schemes can reduce the chance of a break-in by up to 20% because criminals are likely to steer clear of properties that are being monitored by the local community.
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Don’t leave evidence of newly bought appliances lying around. Take boxes and packaging from things like TVs and computers to a recycling centre or keep them out of sight in your bins.
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Mark your valuables and electronic gadgets for easy identification. Criminals may think twice if they see that a laptop has a name engraved on it.
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Consider installing security cameras (real ones, not fakes).
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If you have a home alarm system, use it all the time, not just when you go on holiday. A home alarm system lessens the risk of the property being targeted by intruders and burglars. Day or night, the presence of an alarm system will dissuade a criminal from breaking and entering your property – and in the unlikely event of a security breach, the noisy siren will curtail the amount of time they spend in your home and will alert neighbours that there’s something amiss.
The Western Australia Police Force has some excellent resources for homeowners on its website (www.police.wa.gov.au) including a holiday security checklist, tips on how to avoid being burgled and a brochure on how you can protect your home and assist police.
