This month - a checklist and tips for securing your home while you are on holiday ... 

Inspector Stephen Fairbrother is the Crime Reduction Officer for Derbyshire Constabulary.

It is now officially Summer… (Apparently!). You have worked hard all year and you’re thinking of taking a break. I’m sure that all of us want to come home and find everything as we left it. You can make sure by not advertising the fact that you are away on holiday. Do not let the fear of crime spoil your holiday. Nationally less than 1 in 10 homes are broken into whilst the owners are on holiday, so there is a better than 90% chance of nothing untoward happening to your property.

Let’s look at what else you can do to reduce the risks while you’re away.

This month's tips

Plan ahead – the checklist below will help you keep your home secure. Read it now so that you can plan ahead. Then tick off the items just before you go.

Help from your neighbours – It is a good idea to get help from your neighbours. Choose a trusted neighbour and ask them to keep an eye on your home while you are away. Are they willing to open and close your curtains for you? You could also ask them to collect up the post. Another option for the post is the Royal Mail Keepsafe scheme. For a small charge they will keep your mail until the date you are due back from your holiday. If you are away for any length of time get someone to sweep the leaves, mow the lawn and generally make the place look lived in. Invite your neighbour to park a car on your drive.
 
Then repay your neighbour by doing the same service for them!

Warn your key-holding neighbour not to put your name, address or even house number on your keys in case they fall into the wrong hands.

Is there a Neighbourhood Watch scheme where you live? (if not, why not?) It could help you keep your home secure while you are away, and has many other crime prevention and community benefits.

Checklist

• Help reduce the risk of your home being broken into by taking some simple home security measures. The free booklet ‘Your Practical Guide to Crime Prevention’ has over a hundred tips on preventing crime. It is available on line via www.crimereduction.gov.uk  or from your local crime prevention officer.

• Leave small items, like jewellery, on deposit at the bank, or consider installing a small floor safe. Don’t lock internal doors or desks – they may be forced if someone breaks in.

• Mark any other valuable items with your postcode followed by the house number or the first two letters of the house name. Then if they are and later found, the police can identify and return them to you. Use the right security marker – DIY shops sell property-marking kits. Ask your local crime prevention officer for ‘postcoded property’ warning stickers to display in the front and back windows of your house. Also take photos of all valuable items. A picture paints a thousand words! This is particularly important for those items that may be unsuitable for marking.

• Arrange for pets to be properly looked after.

• Cut the lawn before you go.

• Cancel deliveries of milk, newspapers, etc., discreetly – don’t announce your departure to a shop full of people. Only tell those people who really need to know that you’re going away.

• Make sure your house looks occupied. Closed curtains in the daytime make it look as if no-one is at home. Use automatic time-switches to switch lights on and off in downstairs rooms. Leave a radio to come on – talk shows are better than music for this purpose.

• Don’t leave valuable items like TVs, videos or hi-fi visible through windows.

• Lock the garage and shed with proper security locks, after putting all your tools safely away so they cannot be used to break into your house. If you have to leave a ladder out, put it on it’s side and lock it to a secure fixture with a ‘close-shackle’ padlock and a heavy duty chain.

• Don’t have your home address showing on your luggage for the outward journey. Put this only on the inside of your cases.

• Finally, lock all outside doors and windows. If you have a burglar alarm, make sure it is set and you have told the police who the key-holder is.

And just before you set off, take a couple of minutes on the doorstep to run through the checklist and make sure you have everything you need with you.

The above precautions are obviously not ‘rocket science’, but then burglars are not astronauts!

Hopefully we will get some good weather this year to help people enjoy the summer whether you are going away or staying at home. Be careful over leaving windows and doors open. You want to let the fresh air in, but keep the thief out. I regularly use the phrase ‘opportunity makes the thief’ and it is particularly valid in this context. A lot of summer burglaries are through open doors and windows.

Click here for more home security advice

Vandalism

Another curse of the summer is the increase in vandalism. It is not petty. It is often the first step on the road to criminality for offenders and can be the start of a downhill trend in an area. We all need to take a pride in the area in which we live and encourage others to do so. If you see it happening, report it. Always challenge vandalism by calling the police promptly. Do not put yourself in a position of confrontation. Call us! In particular I ask you to keep your eye on the schools over the summer holidays. They are empty and vulnerable. We all pay heavily for damage done to schools each year. They are a resource for the community. Use the local schools as much as possible and help look after them.

My best wishes to everyone for a peaceful summer