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National Home Security Month: Make Your Home Your Castle

Crispy golden leaves line the pavements as autumn makes itself at home. We’re enjoying long walks in the park all wrapped up as the chillier evenings set-in or cozy nights in with the fire lit or heating on.  But October isn’t just about the onset of autumn, it’s also National Home Security Month (NHSM) and its important to bring home security into the spotlight as burglaries are most common at this time of year.

Are you taking precautions to protect your home, your family and your possessions from intruders?

The reality is that home security is often overlooked and often comes to the forefront of our minds only when it’s too late. We get so caught up in our day to day lives that the idea of investing in home safes or additional security measures rarely crosses our minds. But National Home Security Month aims to put the safety and security of our homes back into focus.

What is National Home Security Month?

The campaign first launched back in 2013 and has taken place every October since. With a dedicated home security website we all have access to free security advice and information to teach us how to secure our homes properly not just in October, but all year round.

Each week of the month focuses on a specific area of interest. The first week’s mission is to raise the alarm, which explores why home alarms are so prevalent in protecting your home. Week two dives into security standards and how you can protect your personal belongings inside your home. The third week emphasises the importance of bringing light into your home and emphasises the need for outdoor security (such as CCTV) as well. Week four and five focus on further educating home owners and tenants on more ways to keep your home safe from unwanted intrusion, especially on Halloween!

Burglaries are on the rise in the UK

Did you know that Halloween and Bonfire Night are statistically the worst time of year for burglaries?  According to recent reports, robberies have risen by 32%, which includes crimes that people chose not to report to police. Last year, there were around 261,915 domestic burglaries. If you thought you were safer across the pond, think again. Northern Ireland has seen similar findings in the last 12 months, with an increase of 0.7% from Match 2017 to March 2018.

Dark nights are upon us…

The clocks go back on 29th October, which means we’ll be faced with darker nights that provide burglars with the perfect cover. They lurk in the shadows, waiting for homeowners to let their guard down long enough to break into their homes. And with the number of domestic robberies rising each year, it’s time to think about what you can do to protect your home and your assets.

Home security should be your top priority at this time of year, and there’s plenty of things you can do to help minimise break-ins and theft of your valuables. A great way to keep thieves at bay is with sensor lighting. Motion activated security lights are 26% more likely to steer a potential burglar in the opposite direction.  Burglars have no problem using darkness as their invisibility cloak, allowing them to sneak into homes unidentified and unseen. So, when you remove that shield of darkness, burglars are left out in the open and are much less likely to attempt a break-in because they know there’s a good chance they’ll get caught.

Another thing you can do to help protect your home is fit an alarm system. Stronger locks on doors and windows provide additional security. Make it as difficult as possible for an intruder to enter your home. For more home security tips, check out our previous blog post: “Winter is Coming: 9 Steps to Protect your home from Burglars”.

Beware! Burglars are using new tricks to identify empty houses

Burglars have come up with new ways to check if you’re at home or not. If there are no lights on in the house for a long time, it’s a giveaway that nobody’s home, but even burglars know that houses that have the porch light or interior lights on can still be empty!

One method that has raised concerns of late is the “Sellotape trick”. This is when the thief will cover the keyhole with clear sellotape to check if a house is being accessed. Burglars are also known to place takeaway menus on a selection of homes to see if they collect outside the home, indicating that the owner is absent. They may also leave litter outside the house such as a beer can, and if it’s never moved in an otherwise tidy garden, it becomes a sign that the house is empty.  If you are going to be away for a time, it’s advisable to have a family member or neighbour that you trust pop by from time to time to collect mail and check for anything suspicious to make it harder for burglars to determine that your house is actually empty.

To sum up…

National Home Security Month reminds people to ‘make your home your castle’. It educates us of the need to be aware of tricks and security weaknesses that burglars take advantage of to gain access to our homes unseen.  The campaign reminds us that taking simple steps to secure our homes both at the front and the back can really make a difference and convince a would-be burglar that your home is just too risky to target!

If you are leaving your home, don’t make it evident that you’re not in. And whatever you do, make sure burglars can’t see your expensive possessions out in the open. Keep valuable property out of sight and away from prying eyes by storing them inside a home safe that is hidden and fixed to the wall or floor.

If you buy a home safe for £150 or more (plus VAT) on or before 30th November 2018, you’ll receive a FREE Burg Wachter house alarm lock. It’s ideal for windows made of aluminium, steel, plastic or wood and comes with an alarm with 110 dB!

Burg Wachter Window Lock with Alarm

Contact us on 0800 389 6066 or email info@barringtonsecurity.co.uk to discuss your home safe and home security options before autumn turns into winter.

Barrington Security

Be Safe, Be Sure, Be Barrington Secure

Barrington Security limited are agents for Barrington Watch Winders, Bordogna Group, Burg Wachter, Burton Safes, Charvat Safes, Chubbsafes, Britannia Safes, Dudley Safes, Igloohome, Phoenix Safes, Ring, Risco, Safescan, Scan Coin, Securikey & Suzohapp.

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