Top Tips on Keeping your Home and Loved Ones Safe Over the Festive Season
Christmas is be a time for fun and celebration and as such Fire and Security are not at the forefront of peoples’ minds at this time of year. At a time when the winter nights are at their longest and many families leave their homes for the Christmas and New Year Holidays, there is sadly an increased risk of Burglary, theft and vandalism. The cold weather means people tend to stay indoors, so relying on neighbours to keep an eye on your empty home can be more difficult too.
Simple Steps for Protecting your Home this Christmas
At this time of year, the cold weather and long hours of darkness can be used as cover for opportunistic criminals who know that many homes will be empty, or full of Christmas gifts. Homeowners feel there is an increased risk of personal attack related to burglary today compared to 10 years ago. With this in mind, and the fact that crime figures have risen across the country over the last 18 months, it has never been more important to protect your home this Christmas.
To make sure that Santa is the only surprise visitor to your home this holiday season, The Kirby Group have compiled a list of top tips to help keep your home and loved ones safe over the festive period. By following this simple checklist this Christmas to become safe and secure, you can help to protect your home and family.
1. Ask a trusted neighbour or friend to keep an eye on your home if you are planning to go away.
2. Use timer switches on internal lights to create the impression that someone is at home.
3. Ensure that no valuables or Christmas gifts are kept in sight of windows.
4. Do not leave answer phone messages indicating that the house will be empty for an extended period of time.
5. Prune trees and shrubs so neighbours can notice suspicious activity more easily and reduce cover for intruders.
6. Close and lock doors, windows and pet flaps. Never leave door keys under a doormat or pot plant outside (even for Santa).
7. Never leave garages or sheds unlocked, not only do you risk losing your property, but you are supplying the burglar with the tools to break into your house.
8. Fit security lights to both the front and back of the property.
9. Consider having a CCTV security system installed as CCTV is a great deterrent which can also be monitored.
10. Use a Security marker pen to mark your postcode on your household property; this will enable the police to return any stolen items to you.
11. If you have a Monitored Home Security System, make sure it is working properly (make sure your service engineer has attend to check the Burglar Alarm System over) and remember to set it. If you do not have a Monitored Burglar Alarm, consider having one installed because they are an effective deterrent to burglars.
12. Do not overload power sockets and ensure electrical appliances, such as Christmas decorations, are working safely.
13. Replace the batteries in your smoke alarms and test them to ensure they are working properly.
Happy Holidays,
The Kirby Group