Vital Security Tips For Your Home
Having no security measures in place puts your home at five times more risk of being burgled. That’s why it’s a great idea to contact CPPM Locksmiths for excellent security services in the Oxford area.
But, while you’re doing that, there are a few simple steps you can perform to keep your home safe.
- Always lock doors and windows when you leave the house – even if you’re only doing it to potter around in the garden.
- Never leave keys in view and definitely don’t leave them hanging beneath the letterbox. A criminal with a hook can quickly get at them.
- Install lighting outside the house.
- Is your hedge so tall that it provides perfect cover for wrongdoers? Reduce it to a more practical height.
- Keep all fences in good condition.
- Fit a burglar alarm.
- Keep gates locked.
- If you’re on good terms with your neighbours, keep an eye on each other’s properties.
- Never leave tools or ladders where they can be used by anyone who wants to break in.
Immobilise
- Mark all valuables with your house number and post code. Also register them, for free, with Immobilise. Don’t leave them visible through your windows. If appropriate, keep them in a safe, or even a bank vault.
Points of access
The most common way for a burglar to enter a property is through the door, whether that be by forcing a lock or simply kicking it in. Therefore, ensure all doors are resilient. You can increase a door’s strength by fitting a bar to it. CPPM can help you with this.
Glass panels on doors can be smashed. You can replace them with laminated glass; or get a film from a DIY store, which can be attached to the panel to strengthen it.
Fit locks to all downstairs windows and easy-to-reach upstairs ones.
Distraction burglary
A burglar may seek to gain entry by more subtle means. If someone claiming to be an official turns up at your door, check their ID by phoning the organisation they claim to represent. Only use a number provided by the service provider, not the one given to you by the mystery caller, as that may be bogus.
Holidays
The biggest threat to your home’s security is if people know you aren’t there. When on holiday, take action to disguise it. Automatic timers can be used to turn on your lights and radio.
If you have newspapers or milk delivered, cancel them.
Mail piling up in your doorway is a sure sign that no one’s at home. The Royal Mail’s Keepsafe service can keep your mail for up to two months. If you trust your neighbours, friends or relatives, they can collect your post, open and close your curtains and park their cars in your driveway.
Never discuss holiday plans on social networks. If you do, you’re not just telling your friends about it. You’re announcing it to every burglar on Earth.
Here are the top six home security mistakes we recommend avoiding, to help keep burgalrss at bay:
1. Cutting corners on window locks
Burglars love cheap window locks. Make sure they are the best on the market (and, yes, Colin and his team can help you in that department).
2. Keep your ladders away from the back door
Make sure ladders are kept in your shed instead of outside. Or indoors even.
3. Avoid having hiding places in your garden
Your Jack Russell Terrier might appreciate the privet hedge or your wheelie bins, but burglars might use them as hiding places to ambush you.
4. Hiding a key under your doormat
Don’t go there. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, so much so that even burglars know how popular it is.
5. Cardboard boxes from expensive items in full view
You may be proud of your state-of-the-art flat screen television but please, don’t advertise the fact you have one by leaving the cardboard box outside.
6. Forgetting to cancel your post and newspapers whilst on holiday
One of the most important home security decisions you can make is cancelling your post and newspapers whilst on holiday. If you wish to refrain from doing that, get a fellow relative or close friend to mind the house whilst you are away.
These are just a few of the things you can do yourself but, remember, there’s no substitute for expertise, and CPPM Locksmiths should be your first port of call for security services in the Oxford area.