23
May
2013
By Calvin at 15:22 GMT, 13 years ago
Police in South Worcestershire are urging people to take steps to protect their electronic devices following two burglaries in which iPads were stolen.
Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, iPod touch and Macs are often targeted by burglars breaking into homes.
The warning comes after a burglary in Martley on 10 May in which an iPad, Toshiba laptop and Canon camera were stolen from a house after it was broken into via the back door.
An iPad and a Dell laptop were also stolen from a house on Sheldon Close in Droitwich on 13 May after the property was entered through an unlocked back door.
Detective Sergeant Dave Knight from Worcester police station said: “In light of these recent burglaries, we would like to make owners of Apple products and other electronic devices aware that there are free security ‘apps’ available online which can help trace these items if they are stolen or lost.
“These are usually free ‘apps’ which can be found in the application store on your device. Once activated, they can remotely locate the current position of the device, which is obviously very useful to the police when we are trying to find the stolen property.
“We would urge people to take advantage of these types of applications as an effective security measure.”
Det Sgt Knight also advised owners not to leave their mobile devices on show in the home to help lower their chances of being a victim of burglary: “It's best to get into the habit of hiding them from view to be on the safe side, just as should be done with car keys.
“Vehicles and mobile electronic items are valuables which are frequently targeted by burglars.
“Under Citadel, a force-wide initiative aimed at reducing burglaries, West Mercia Police is working very hard to tackle burglary rates and catch offenders.
“Residents can play their part by making sure they keep their windows and doors locked to make it harder for burglars to get into their homes.
“People may also want to consider using a property marking solution, such as Smartwater or ultra violet pens, to write their postcode on their valuables as this also makes it easier for us to identify the owner of stolen property when we recover it.”
TCPW Comment Sound advice from DS Dave Knight, except that the UV pen and postcode is a bit ‘old hat’ nowadays. I would recommend you use a proprietary marking product such as the one suggested or one of the others that can be found by following the link below. UV ink fades quite quickly, especially in the sun, and will wear off something that’s constantly handled. It still has its use, but more on surfaces that will absorb the ink, such as the undersides of furniture and on material.
Take a look at the property marking sections on this website for lots more information
