Going away on holiday?

Havering Council has launched the #SafeWhileAway Campaign to give tips on how to keep your home safe over the summer.  Burglary peaks during the summer period when many homes are left empty while families are away on holiday.

 

Police UK offers guidance and advice on keeping your home safe throughout the year however burglaries tend to happen more during the summer months when people go on holiday. 

 

Follow these tips to keep your home safe from burglaries:

 

• Make sure your house looks like someone is at home.  
• Ask a family member of a trusted friend to house sit while you are away.
• Don't close your curtains – in the daytime this is a clear sign that your house is empty.
• Cancel any milk or online deliveries
• Avoid discussing specific date and times of when you’ll be away on social media or where strangers may hear your holiday plans.
• Mow the lawn before you go.
• Make sure all your doors and windows are locked and any spare keys aren’t in sight from the outside.
• Ask a family member or a trusted friend to pick up your mail and clear out any junk mail. Install a light on a timer switch that comes on in the evening.
• You can also get photosensitive bulbs that switch on when a certain level of darkness is reached.
• If you are using a light on a timer, don’t use it with a table lamp that can be viewed through a window – a dead giveaway.
• If you normally leave valuable pedal cycles or similar in your shed, consider putting them in the house.
• Also make sure valuable items such as laptops, games consoles etc. are not in view from the outside.
• Mark valuable household belongings with your house number and postcode, and take photos of your property, particularly jewellery.

 

You can then register your items for free at www.immobilise.com, a service that will assist the police in returning property to the rightful owner should it be stolen and recovered.

 

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