UTTLESFORD NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH www.uttlesfordnhw.org.uk

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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH CRIME REDUCTION ADVICE

HOME SECURITY
Make your home look and feel occupied.

• Leave a radio switched on to a talking station.
• Using low energy bulbs, fit daylight sensors to some interior lights, so that they come on when it gets dark, dull or overcast.
• Do not close your curtains during the day.
• Close your garage door if you remove your car.

Secure your boundaries.

• Repair fences and fit trellis to the tops.
• Use defensive planting on vulnerable boundaries - Berberis, Hawthorn, Pyracantha etc.
• Cut back undergrowth and lower hedges in your front garden to at least 4 feet.

Secure your house.

• If you don’t have multi-point locking (as fitted to most modern U-PVC doors) ensure that all external locks conform to BS3621.
• Fit additional locks to windows. Use push-button locks on frequently-used windows.
• Consider installing an intruder alarm. Modern systems are very reliable and are far less expensive than most people think.

Protect your possessions.

• Invest in a small safe (around £25.00) and use it keep your valuables safe – including spare credit cards, driving licence, passports etc.
• Security mark all your electronics and other valuables.

SHED AND GARAGE SECURITY

Sheds

• Site your shed near your house and fit good exterior lighting.
• Fit a close-shackled padlock to your shed and bolt the fittings through the door and frame.
• Hang net curtains at shed & garage windows – burglars seldom steal what they can’t see.
• Secure garden equipment, cycles, mowers, ladders and power tools with a steel cable.

Garages

• Drill a hole in the runners of up-and-over doors (just above the wheels) and fit a bolt or padlock to prevent the door from opening.
• If your garage has a back door, fit a lock certified to BS3621.
• Property mark all tools and equipment.

HEATING OIL SECURITY

Move it - If the tank is located away from the house, if possible move it closer where you can keep a better eye on it.

Screen it - If the tank can be seen from the road, screen it with fencing or hedging.

Cage it - Consider building a metal cage around it with a secure entrance gate.

Alarm it – Consider installing an oil tank alarm.

Hide pipe work - Reduce locations that it can be attacked and hide external pipe work.

Cut the power supply - Ensure that any electrical control boxes or switches are in a secure environment (in your house if possible).

Block vehicle access - Keep vehicles as far away from your tank as possible, use locked gates, parking posts or hooped barriers. Install a driveway alert monitor.

Invest in good lighting - Fit movement activated lighting. Consider one that activates a buzzer in the house as it switches on. Adjust sensitivity to prevent false alarms.

Check your home insurance - Ensure that your home insurance covers you for the loss/theft of your heating oil.

VEHICLE SECURITY – Vehicle security is good these days but here are some extra tips:

On the Driveway

• If possible, garage your car. Many people fill their garage with junk and leave their £20,000 car on the driveway!
• Modern cars cannot be taken without the keys. Thieves will sometimes burgle houses to get them, so do not leave them lying around. Take your keys to bed!
• If you have a van, reverse it up to a wall to deter theft of its contents.
• Always remove valuables and lock your car – even if it’s kept in the garage.

Away from home

• Lock your vehicle whenever you go to pay for fuel.
• Do not leave valuable items in view, (wallets, handbags, portable sat-navs etc).
• In attended car parks, park near the attendant’s kiosk if possible and do not leave the ticket in the car.
• Park in well-lit areas

CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT - trend caused by escalating value of scrap metal.

• 4x4s and high wheelbase cars should be garaged.
• Fit movement activated lighting.
• Install a ‘Driveway alert’.
• Consider investing in a Cat Clamp.
• Security mark the catalytic converter with a kit from www.retainagroup.com.

CARAVAN SECURITY

• Install exterior lighting.
• Fit parking posts in front of trailers and caravans.
• Fit hitch-locks and wheel clamps.
• Fit an alarm in caravans.
• Remove rear light bulbs.
• Display postcode on the caravan roof.

Please note: The advice given in this document does not guarantee that you won’t be a victim of crime, but merely suggests measures that might deter criminal activity. No contract, either express or implied, has been entered into with Essex Police, its officers, staff, agents or employees.

January 2012