It is a known fact that crime during the winter months increases, particularly burglaries around the Christmas period. In this blog post we have outlined 7 things you can do to help protect your home during the winter.
Burglaries – Burglaries increase in winter by up to 50% with darker nights adding to the risk and Christmas being an opportunist time for burglars to make a quick buck. In 73% of burglaries the burglars use doors to enter a property, 3% of which are open doors. Always ensure that all doors and windows are locked when you are at home or out. Just being at home does not deter all burglars as 57% of burglaries happen when someone is actually at home!
Locks, Doors and Windows – Having secure locks on doors and windows is essential in the winter months, many household have locks that are not up to standard and can easily be broken into, sometimes the locks fitted to a property can actually invalidate home insurance so in the event of a burglary you would not be covered. Easy Pickings Locksmiths can give you advice on whether or not your door and window locks adhere to insurance standards, if not we can get them upgraded for you.
Use A Safe – One of the main reasons burglars enter properties these days is not just to steal valuable possessions but to potentially steal identity too. Leaving sensitive information such as utility bills, passports, birth certificates and HMRC documentation means someone if they entered your property could potentially steal your identity. They can take out credit in your name and even sell your house from under you. Using a safe in your home means that all such documentation will be safe from being stolen.
Timer Lights – Many people like to go on holiday in the winter months to get away from the cold or even go and stay with family away from home for a few days over Christmas and New Year. Burglars look for signs too see if you are at home and if they notice lights not on in an evening then this can be a tell-tale sign there is nobody home and a perfect opportunity for a burglar to break an entry. Use timer lights to simulate the house being occupied when you are spending time away from home to help deter opportunist burglars.
Social Media – We all like to post on social media exactly what we are doing and where we are doing it. Burglars often use social media to establish whether or not anybody is in your property and if you are posting pictures of a lovely Sunday dinner cooked by your mum then they can assume you are not home and take the opportunity to break into your home and steal goods.
Home security of the winter months is something everybody should look at, it is not just the inconvenience or the financial loss of being burgled that can be an issue but also the psychological and emotional damage a burglary can cause. Make sure you are vigilant this winter and if you need more advice on home security or would like a free home security check then please do not hesitate to contact us at https://www.easypickingslocksmiths.co.uk or call us on 0113 805 0761