How to protect your home

• Install good external security lighting
• Don’t help a burglar break in-keep tools in a locked shed and lock up ladders.
• Keep side and rear gates locked.
• Lock up garden equipment – theft from gardens is becoming increasingly common.

Identify Your Property

• Keep a list of makes, models and serial numbers of appliances and electrical goods and take photos of valuable items to help identify them.
• Mark individual items with your postcode and house/flat number. You can buy kits to do this from stationers and DIY shops. Ultraviolet pen is also an option, but this will fade over time. There are kits available for applying microdots-containing a unique PIN number-to valuable items.

When You go away

Make sure the house looks occupied

• Cancel papers and milk
• Set up a timer switch for lights and radios
• Keep valuables out of sight from windows
• Ask a friend to clear mail and adjust curtains.

Signs of Vacancy

Burglars tend to be skilled in recognizing signs which indicate that a particular house is vacant. This means that it is unlikely that they will be disturbed on entry.

The following are some of the things a burglar look for:

• A build up of milk on the door-step.
• A build up of papers and advertisements in the letter box.
• A build up of letters in the hall visible from outside.
• No lights on at nights, or just ‘dead’ lights like in the porch, or the hall.
• Lights on during the day.
• Front gates closed and no car in the drive way.
• Notes left for delivery men or callers.
• Uncut lawn and untidy garden.

Obviously any of these occurring by itself does not confirm that the premises are unoccupied. But they are some of the criteria thieves use to target their victims. The more signs there are, the more certain they can be that nobody is at home. These tell-tale signs can be easily avoided by a little personal care and attention.

If you are worried that you may not be protected and do not have a monitored alarm, then why not contact us at GalCom and we will discuss your concerns.

At the very minimum we recommend that you install an alarm to I. S. EN 50131 Standards

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