18
Jun
2014
By Calvin at 15:35 GMT, 11 years ago
My police and media news feeds are currently awash with reports of people suffering burglaries as a result of leaving doors and windows open in the warm weather. I only have seven of these feeds (plenty enough for my little website) and there have been no fewer than eight reports in three days from just these few news sources.
It happens every summer of course, because it’s quite understandable why we’d want to have some fresh air blowing through the home - so what can we do?
Here’s some ideas:
- Lots of multi-point locking windows enable you to lock the windows in a slightly open position. However, this would allow some purchase for a long screwdriver to force an entry, so only ever do this is if you’re at home and active around the house. Remember to close and lock them properly when you go to bed or go out. Do the same if it’s a front window and you’re in the back garden, because you won’t hear the burglar forcing his way in!
- You can buy add-on locks for timber windows that allow you to lock them in a slightly open position, but the same rules above apply
- People fit concertina gates across the inside of their windows and French doors, which are hidden behind the curtains when not in use. These also bolster the security of the closed and locked door or window when you leave the house unoccupied
- If this isn’t for you, then think about removable, hinged or permanently fixed grilles fitted to the inside frame of a window you like to leave open. Gates and grilles would allow you the fresh air you need, but reduce the risk of an intrusion. Always think about your means of escape in an emergency though! I know a couple of people who have grilled the small casement fanlight window of a first floor bedroom and feel safe enough to sleep with the grilled window open in these circumstances
- Even when at home, if you have a multi-point locking door always, always, always lift the handle to engage the locks, turn the key in the lock cylinder and remove the key to a safe place. A multi-point locking door (even an enhanced secure one to the British Standard's PAS 24 2012) that is not locked properly can be opened in a jiffy with little more than a small screwdriver
- Get into the habit of always locking the back door, even when you’re in the house. If you’re upstairs making the beds or doing some DIY it only takes a moment for someone to come in via the back garden
- And of course, make sure thieves can’t get into the back garden in the first place by improving the gates and boundary security
There’s stacks of advice on this website, about 210,000 words of it, in fact! It’s all free and it’s just for you
Don’t suffer those summertime blues – you know it makes sense!
Home Security – Read all about it! http://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/home/466/home-security/
