Summer has arrived and for many of us, it's time to look out the flip flops and enjoy holidays with our loved ones. People of all ages are looking forward to being reunited with family & friends once again. On one hand, these are moments of joy which will hold everlasting memories, but on the other, some unlucky families will return from their holidays to find that somebody has broken into their home. July & August tend to be the two most popular months for break ins.
Heightened security throughout the travel industry requires us to be vigilant about how we pack our bags, and what items we take away with us. We should also be vigilant about what we are leaving behind, and how best to secure precious items we have at home whilst we are away.
So what can we do to make our homes more secure?
1. Engage with the local community. Whether you buy or rent a property, try and engage with your new neighbours. Having a good neighbourhood community makes a huge difference to the security of your home. If your neighbours have a garden, offer to cut their grass or to do some pruning. Offer to put out their bins on collection day, even though they are empty. This can be discretely & without having to access your neighbours house. In the eyes of a potential burglar, freshly cut grass, pruning & refuse bins in place for collection means normal activity in the household, and will put the burglar off entering. If you have built up trust to the extent where you have exchanged spare house keys, all the better.
2. Monitor your home. With today's technologies, monitoring your home using your mobile device from the other side of the world is an option. An IP camera is a good start. Strategically placed within your property, an IP camera will detect motion, provide night vision & will send an immediate text message or e mail to your mobile device in the event of an intrusion. You can then alert the police or a neighbour to make them aware of the situation. Smart home technology is becoming ever popular. Being able to control on/off times for lighting, TV, music devices etc will add extra security to your home. Also consider using outdoor sensor lighting in dark areas.
3. Keep your holiday plans quiet. We all like to share our holiday plans with friends & family on social media. Posting specific dates & destinations to Facebook & Twitter is not advisable when leaving your house empty. This makes you an easy target to burglars who troll the Internet to gather such information. Enjoy your holiday, but post all your photos & updates on your return.
4. Professional alarm system & safe. If you can afford to install a professional alarm system & safe, I would urge you to do so. In any break in, time is of the essence for the burglar. A good alarm system, camera surveillance & safe compliment each other in delaying access, giving the police the time needed to arrive on site. A wall safe is ideal for small items such as spare cash, documents & memory cards. A decoy safe is also a good option. There is nothing worse for a burglar than accessing a safe to find it empty.
5. Back up all your saved files. One of the most heartbreaking outcomes of a burglary is loss or damage to items that hold sentimental value to us. We can replace material items such as the flat screen TV in the lounge or the PC we have in the office, but family photos of events and keepsakes are irreplaceable. It is essential to have all your data backed up onto an external hard drive, pen drive or on cloud storage such as Dropbox. Any small material items of sentimental value can be kept in the safe.
Taking the above steps to secure your home while you are away will give you added protection.
Have a safe & happy holiday.
