October is National Home Security Month. As Part of this we’re sharing an autumn winter home security checklist. At this time of year we’re encouraged to check our homes are ready for what is the statistically the worst time of year for burglaries. Thieves take advantage of darker days and well stocked homes in the run up to Christmas. Autumn and winter see more break ins with 1 in 5 home burglaries happening in November and December.
Luckily, there are plenty of simple but effective things that we can do to protect our homes.
Keybury Fire and Security are a family run Keighley based business, and local security specialists. We’ve provided an autumn winter home security checklist for local community publication “Aire Valley Magazine” and “Worth Valley Magazine”. We’re also sharing our tips here in the blog.
We’ve put together an autumn winter home security checklist to bring a little peace of mind.
An Autumn Winter Security Checklist for Outdoors
- Is your security lighting on a timer/sensor? Does it still work?
- Trim back shrubs, add lighting to dark corners of garden; don’t’ provide cover for an intruder.
- Does your alarm look old? A new box can look like a completely new system.
- Is your shed/garage/garden bar locked? Is it linked to your home alarm system? (It could be programmed to be alarmed when the rest of the house isn’t.)
- Does your garden fence need repairing/replacing? Could you plant ‘anti theft’ (prickly!) bushes?
- A gravel drive or pathway is crunchy and noisy when anyone approaches your car or home.
- Do you have home CCTV? Check it’s working. Book a technician to carry out a service of the system to make sure it’s working as it should. If you haven’t yet installed CCTV, consider it. Security cameras are one of the best burglar deterrents available. If there is an incident, your cameras could capture valuable evidence.
An Autumn Winter Security Checklist for Indoors
- Close your curtains to avoid people seeing in; It’s not advised to leave curtains closed when you’re away on holiday but a useful way to stop people seeing in when it’s dark out.
- Leave a light on to make your home look occupied when you’re out.
- Tidy up tech and valuables away – don’t leave them out in plain sight.
- Bring in the Christmas Shopping from your car and store out of sight of thieves as well as the kids! Dispose of packaging discretely. A Playstation box left out on top of the bin is an advert to a thief.
- Take care answering the door. Invest in a peephole, door chain or doorbell camera to allow you to screen who is calling before you answer the door. Wired doorbell cameras are a reliable option as they don’t require recharging.
Routine
- When you’re leaving the house lock doors and windows.
- Don’t leave spare keys hidden
- Always set your house alarm when you’re going out – even if you won’t be out long. If someone tried to break in, it would scare them off and alert the neighbours. A smart alarm can ping your phone and let your set it via an app too.
- When you’re at home, lock your door to reduce the chance of sneak in burglaries.
- At bedtime – check all the doors and windows are locked and set your house alarm.
Keybury Fire and Security protect homes and businesses with fire and security systems. Contact us today to book a free home security survey (or book online!)
Contact us for all your home security requirements 01535 661197 sales@keybury.co.uk