No home can ever be 100% secure, but there are plenty of things you can do to make your property as close to that as possible, and they should be done now.
With the nights closing in fast, and faster still once the clocks go back at the end of this month, it’s certain to see a rise in home burglaries as thieves like to do their dirty work in the dark.
Get a burglar alarm fitted
Surely every home has a burglar alarm? Not even close. Only a third of UK homes are alarmed, which goes some way towards explaining why just every 106 seconds, a home in the UK is burgled.
If you compare the cost of the average burglary (£3,000) to the potential cost of a decent bells-only, silent, dialler or wireless alarm (£200), it’s a total no-brainer to get a burglar alarm fitted.
Very little gets past one of these alarm systems. They are clever enough to detect an attack on a home, the second that it happens.
Don’t leave out a spare key
The contents of your home probably amount to many hundreds, if not, thousands of pounds. Why make it easy for a thief to steal them by leaving a spare key outside the house?
Under a doormat or plant pot will be the first place a thief looks for a key, before they try and figure out another way of gaining entry to your treasured goods.
It will only cost a few quid to get some spare keys cut for people, so don’t take the risk and put your home insurance policy in doubt.
Install secure new windows and doors
You rely on your windows and doors to be secure enough to keep thieves out, requiring the frames to be tough, and the locking system to remain engaged, whatever attempt is made to break it.
To determine whether they are likely to stand up to external pressure, go outside and give them a decent push (not too hard though) to see if they shift at all when locked.
Too much movement shows a lack of security and should result in a change of windows and doors, to preferably internally glazed double or triple glazed windows and doors.
In our current autumn sale, we are offering our best guaranteed prices on all of our windows and doors, should you need some. Visit our Special Offers page to find out more.