Autumn and Winter Crime Prevention

Burglaries often increase during the autumn and winter months, as burglars take advantage of the longer hours of darkness and target unlit homes.

Crime prevention doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, there are simple measures you can take to make your home look occupied and reduce your chances of being a victim.

• Always keep doors and windows locked, even when you’re in. Remove the keys from the lock and keep them out of view or reach.
• Install LED dusk to dawn lighting to make sure that your garden, especially doorways, are well lit at night.
• If you are away from home, make your house look occupied, use a timer switch to operate lamps or a TV simulator and leave a radio on.
• Secure bins at night and put garden furniture away for the winter as these can be used by burglars as climbing aids to gain access to upper floor windows
• Lock your garden gates and side entrances using strong closed shackle padlocks to BS EN 12320 standard.
• Never leave a spare key in a convenient hiding place such as under the doormat or in a flowerpot.
• Marked property can deter burglars because it is harder for a thief to sell on. Any valuable items should be marked, either using an etching type tool to mark the post code, or by using a UV pen or property marking products that fluoresce under UV light.
• Join our free messaging service Keep in the Know and consider following your neighbourhood policing teams on Facebook to keep up to date with what’s happening in your area and what is being done about it.

Autumn Winter Crime Prevention Flyer