Postcode your property
Marking your valuables with your postcode and house or flat number can make
the chances of recovering your property after a burglary much higher; it also
has the added advantage of making it harder for the goods to be sold on. You can
mark you precious items in a number of ways:
Engraving / Etching - leaves a permanent mark and can be done by a hand-held
or electrical engraver.
Punching or hammering - Suitable only for heavy metal goods such as lawnmowers
or bicycles.
Ultra-Violet (UV) - This can be done with a pen and leaves an invisible
mark. Bear in mind that the mark can fade with time and can be washed off so ensure
marking is renewed on a regular basis. As this type of marking is invisible, it
is a good idea to make intruders aware that property in your home has been marked,
the police are able to provide you with stickers to place in your home.
Glass / Ceramic Markers - Made specifically to mark glass and ceramics.
Make sure that you put your entire postcode on the item.
In addition to marking, it is recommended that you take photographs of your
most valuable items in colour against a scale and keep a record of serial numbers
to assist police in the event of a burglary.
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Have a safe fitted
The most common type of safe is the anchored safe which sits on the floor and
has the option of being bolted to the floor from the inside. Valuable documents
and jewellery should be kept in a fire-proof safe.
Safes have a cash rating, if a safe is being used for jewellery a cash rating
can be multiplied by 4 and if the safe is in an area covered by an alarm system
the value it can hold in jewellery can be multiplied by 8.
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Hide your Jewellery
Don't keep all your jewellery in one place, try and spread valuables around
the house and don't keep them anywhere where an intruder is likely to look like
the top of the wardrobe.
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Secure your garages and sheds
Your garage or shed is often the place you keep equipment ideal for breaking into
houses; however, they are often overlooked when it comes to making your property
secure.
You should fit strong padlocks to doors and ensure that the doors are strong enough
to withhold a reasonable amount of force. Ladders should be locked into the garage
or shed to prevent them from being used by an intruder to reach upstairs windows.
If you don't have enough room to store them away, chain them with a large, heavy
chain horizontally to something fixed.
If you have a wooden double door on your garage you should use a high security
close shackle padlock, for aluminium 'up and over' doors, a mortice lock will
provide adequate security. If you have a connecting door to the house from the
garage you should have a mortice lock to BS 3621 specifications fitted, mortice
bolts should also be fitted at the top and bottom of the door.
Hinges on sheds are usually exposed so have them replaced with no-return screws
instead which are harder to remove than normal screws. You should also consider
fitting a metal grille to the inside of the windows fixed on steel plates.
