|
Make your home a difficult target. Inside your home Make it difficult for your valuables to be taken. Check who’s at the door and don’t open it if you feel anxious. Leave some lights on or consider using plug timers if it will be dark before you get home. Store keys, including your car keys, out of sight and away from the front door area. Hide wallets, identity cards, passports and cash. Mark or etch your property with your postcode, house, flat number or the first three letters of your house name. Take photographs of your valuable items such as jewellery. Register items with serial numbers such as mobile phones, games consoles, bikes and watches at: www.immobilise.com Outside your home Install good outside lighting. Scale back hedges or fences that prevent people seeing your home. Lock doors and windows every time you leave the house, even when you are in the garden. Cancel milk or other deliveries if you are planning on being away from home. Ask a neighbour, friend or relative to keep an eye on your property if you are going away. Keep ladders and gardening tools locked away to prevent them being used to gain entry to your home. Secure bikes by locking them to an immoveable object inside a locked shed or garage. Install a burglar alarm that can be seen on the outside of your property. On your street Be a good neighbour and check on your neighbours’ properties if they are away. Remove any letters or deliveries from the letterbox or doorway. Clear snow to your neighbours’ doors, or walk on their paths if they are away - footprints will make the house appear occupied. Burglars look for the best house to target, so report anyone acting suspiciously. Consider setting up or joining a Neighbourhood Watch scheme. For more information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team or visit: www.derbyshire.police.uk | 
