National Home Security Month Helps Property Owners Fight Crime

As the nights draw in, it's more important than ever to keep your home protected and secure against break-ins. As October is National Home Security Month, this is the perfect opportunity to check the measures that you have in place and make sure that they are adequate to reduce the risk of your property being burgled.

Lock Up Your Property

With the darker nights there is more time for criminals to go undetected, so it's important that you keep your house locked, even when you're at home. It only takes a few seconds for a burglar to sneak into your home and take a phone, cash or car keys, but it could be hours before you actually notice.

When you move into a new home, you should change the locks, even if the previous owners have given you all their keys. There could be other people who have a set, and it could pay to be cautious. Fitting locks on to your windows, both upstairs and downstairs, will also boost security. This is especially important if the upper floors can be accessed by an exterior staircase or balcony with stainless steel banisters.

Secure the Outside

Many of us have garages, sheds or outbuildings where we store belongings and equipment, but we don't always secure these spaces as well as we do the actual property. As these areas are away from the house, they are far easier to get into without the activity being noticed, and again it could be a while before you realise that anything is missing. Burglars also know that these buildings can contain high-value items, such as bikes, tools and gardening equipment. A survey carried out by Which? found that 75% of homeowners had goods worth over £2,000 stored in these buildings.

It's a good idea to fit a heavy-duty padlock to your outbuildings and keep any windows securely closed. If there are windows in the building, then put up curtains or screens so that intruders can't see what's inside easily. Security lighting on the exterior of your property will deter opportunist burglars and alert you to the presence of someone.

We all like to think that we won't be the victim of crime, but you can never completely minimise the risk. However, by securing your property and any outbuildings in the correct manner, there's less chance that you will be affected.