The Crime Prevention Website

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On completing this Home Security questionnaire you'll be sent a FREE risk assessment report tailor-made just for you showing you how to secure your home.  Your report will include an overall risk assessment score* and links to other parts of the site for extra information.  This is a unique application for home security and we hope you find the whole experience useful. Click below to go straight to the survey or read more info below.

n.b. You will be asked to input your county or country at the beginning of the survey.  If you forget to do this and press 'show me my results' at the end of the survey you will automatically be returned to the start to enter this information. You will not be able to see your results until you have provided this information.

*The average score across all dwelling types is 60.39 after 7,866 surveys (Updated 26.07.18)

If you are seeking the services of an independent security consultant please click here 

If you live outside the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland you will still find the survey useful.

Top 10 UK Counties surveyed since records began in order are: London, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Lancashire, Essex, Hampshire, West Midlands, Kent, Surrey, West Yorkshire

A message about CCTV and this survey

Although domestic CCTV systems are undoubtedly useful for home security this survey does not make reference to CCTV. This is because there no research (yet) that shows us that it actually prevents crime. It is likely that a question about CCTV will be added to a future update of this survey, but its inclusion will make very little difference to the final risk assessment score. 

Home security surveys carried out by the police

A few police services in the UK and other parts of the world continue to offer home visits by police officers and police staff to provide security advice. Please contact your local police service to find out if this service is available. I hasten to add that the person who advises you should be properly trained as they need to be familiar with various national standards for security and fire (means of escape), building and planning regulations and codes.  

Surveys conducted by professional consultants

It is plainly obvious that an online survey, no matter how well put together, will not be as good as a visit to your home by an independent and professional security consultant. If this is a service you require please click on the links below.  You may be interested to learn that Calvin Beckford operates both Calvin's Crime Consultancy and this website - The Crime Prevention Website.com

Or visit our page about the Association of Security Consultants

Further information about this survey

The questionnaire has been developed using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and the author's experience of conducting literally hundreds of home security surveys. The risk assessment report has its limits, because we're not actually visiting your home. Neither are we claiming it has scientific rigidity, but it will nevertheless give you some good ideas about where your risks lie.  You may find some of the questions a little odd, but believe us when we say that many, many factors affect your risk of becoming a victim of crime and not all of them are connected with the bricks and mortar of your home. (See Home security assessment,  Burglary risk

The report will give you an overall risk assessment score out of 100 and within the written part you'll be able to click on the ‘further references’ to go straight to the relevant sections on this website for extra advice.  We do hope you find it useful and maybe even a bit of fun!   

Do please tell your neighbours and friends about it, because it will be interesting to compare and discuss your results, and most importantly the more people who complete this survey the better we can make it.

The survey is anonymous! 

You’re not asked for your name or address and so we don't know where you live! However, we do ask what county or country you live in for statistical purposes. The only exception to this rule is when we are running a competition, such as a draw, when you are invited to supply your name and to use your email address to contact you if you win.  Of course, you don't have to enter the competition, so you can still remain anonymous. 

Here’s what to do

  • Select the type of dwelling you're going to survey from the grid.  If yours isn’t shown then pick one that's closest to yours.  You can click on the 'Feedback on this page' (top left) to tell us about including a different type of dwelling for future releases of this application 
  • Be aware that this is a Beta application, which may contain the odd error
  • If you’ve got Wi-Fi and a laptop you might find it more convenient to input the answers as you walk around the dwelling
  • The average time people take to complete the survey is 17 minutes. 
  • DON'T answer the questions from your own perspective.  Try to imagine yourself to be a burglar about to break into your home or steal from your garden or car
  • You MUST answer all the questions (You'll be prompted if you miss one).  If you feel that the selection of answers doesn’t quite describe the response you want to make select the closest answer and then you can click on the 'Feedback on this page' (top left) to see if we can add an extra response in a future application
  • Some of the questions include notes to help you answer the questions
  • Once you've completed the survey our system will work out your risk assessment score and send you a written report
  • We suggest you then save the report to your inbox and or print it out. If you save to your inbox and it doesn't appear check your spam in case it's wiggled its way in there!
  • After you've made the necessary improvements to your security, you can repeat the survey to see how your scores have changed – Good luck!
  • If you don't have online access and you're reading this on somebody else's computer it is highy likely that you will still know enough about your home to enable you to answer the survey questions now.

Your score and the chances of burglary

Score 0 – 38 Burglary is highly likely 

‘Who lives in a house like this?’ is the phrase that springs to mind and my answer to the question is ‘certainly not me!’  Dwellings like this invariably have no window locks, simple nightlatches on the front door, open access to the various elevations of the building and the occupiers don’t practice even the most basic security procedures.  Although, of course, there will be exceptions, these buildings get burgled very often indeed and are uninsurable.  To say that urgent remedial action is required is rather stating the obvious!

Score 39 – 51 Burglary is likely 

These are the dwellings that really exasperate the police, because they’re the ones that keep messing up the crime statistics!  A home like this might have a few security measures, such as the right lock in the front door, and the occupiers might remember to lock the back door and leave a light on when they go out, but frankly security improvements need to be made now and you’ll need to improve your security routines as well.  Many of the homes as insecure as these are unlikely to be insurable.  You may have insurance cover, but don’t be surprised if the insurers don’t pay out should the worst happen.    

Score 52 – 69 The Grey Zone 

I call this the Grey Zone, because there are people who live in homes at the lower end of this range of scores who will never get burgled.  This might be because they live in the countryside where burglary levels are half that of the cities, or perhaps because they live in a part of a town or city that simply doesn’t experience much crime of any type.  Frankly, I think you’re living on borrowed time and I would strongly advise you to make some improvements over the next few weeks. 

If your home is at the higher end of this range of scores then it’s clear to me that you have given some consideration to your security needs and practice some pretty sensible security procedures.  However, your home will be presenting some opportunities to the thief and so some more consideration followed by some action is clearly required.  Most homes scoring towards the upper end of this range will be insurable.

Score 70 – 78 Burglary is unlikely 

People living in dwellings that score in this range will be reasonably satisfied about their security and the home will almost definitely be insurable.  Although it is unlikely that your home will be burgled, ‘unlikely’ does not mean that it can’t happen.  It is generally forgetfulness or complacency that results in these homes getting burgled and much ‘kicking oneself’ follows such an event.  I live in a home that scores at the top of this score range and it’s forgetfulness that led to my burglary – I left the key in the door with a cat-flap!  You will note from the home security report you will be sent that even you can do more to improve your security and so when the opportunities arise, such as when you replace your windows and or doors, do make reference to the security report again to see what more you can do.

Score 79 – 100 Burglary is highly unlikely  

Homes like these will have nearly all that is required to deter the opportunist burglar and the only way you are likely to suffer a crime is through forgetfulness and complacency.  However, I’ve noticed that some of the Home Security Reports issued to homes in this score range often include a recommendation to mark valuable items of property, so even you can do something more to help yourself (and the police) should a thief pay a visit.

Limitation of liability in respect to the advice and assessment scores:

The Home Security Report you will be sent upon completion of the survey provides a number of recommendations to improve your security and a suggested priority list for these improvements. This report is sent to you in good faith and without contract.  The report is supplied to you on the understanding that you accept that The Crime Prevention Website does not guarantee that by carrying out the work in the prescribed order it will necessarily be the correct order for your individual risks and that by following the advice you won't be the subject of a crime even if you carry out all of the recommendations in whatever order.

Please Note

THE HOME SECURITY SURVEY IS AN ONLINE SERVICE ONLY.  WE CANNOT PROVIDE RISK ASSESSMENTS VIA EMAIL, LETTER OR PHONE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE AN INDEPENDENT SECURITY CONSULTANT TO VISIT YOU PLEASE SCROLL UP TO 'SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS'