7
Nov
2017
By Calvin at 11:57 GMT, 6 years ago
Imagine coming home from work to discover that someone has broken into your home and stolen your stuff. What would be your immediate response after having reported the matter to police and spoken with your family, friends and neighbours?
My wife and I hear about burglary quite often during the course of her work. At least once a month one of her clients or someone her client knows gets broken into and then we hear about what they’ve done to stop another burglary.
This morning, for instance, we heard about a lady (in her 60s who lives on her own) who had put an order in for security shutters following a burglary. There’s nothing wrong with that except I later discovered that she doesn’t have an alarm and doesn’t have the right locks on the doors and windows. In other words, she’s gone from a complete lack of basic security straight to security shutters, without taking guidance from anyone other than the people selling the shutters.
This reaction is a common one and I can imagine the stress this lady is going through and so it comes as no surprise that she’s now panicking and buying the first thing that came into her mind.
I should repeat here that there is nothing wrong with security shutters. They definitely do have a place in home security for certain people and where the risks warrant them and there’s a whole section on this website devoted to the subject that gives you both their advantages and disadvantages. However, sometimes it is worth obtaining some independent advice and taking a more holistic view of your home’s security.
You should start by asking questions, such as:
- What was it about my house that attracted the burglar in the first place?
- If the burglary happened after dark was I displaying lights both inside and outside the house?
- Was the door or window the burglar used properly secured?
- How much crime takes place along my street?
- Do I have a basic level of security already in place? If not, what am I missing?
There are many more questions you should be asking yourself and my website can help you with this if you carry out the free and anonymous Home Security Survey (over 7,000 people have done so since its launch)
Getting independent advice is not as easy as it used to be because lots of our cash-strapped police services have had to let go of their Crime Prevention Officers. However, some do still provide this service and so you should give your local police a call to see if they can help. Failing this there’s my Survey and all the advice available on this website. Next in line would be to ask a Member of the Master Locksmiths Association to pay you a visit. Chances are you’ll be needing some work done anyway and the locksmith will be more than happy to survey your home to let you know what more may need doing. I know their advice is not strictly independent, but in my experience they’re a fair and honest group of people and will have your best interests at heart.
If all else fails and you feel you need advice from an independent security consultant then you’ll have to pay for this service. Being independent they certainly won’t be recommending companies or specific products to you, but they will recommend security standards and trade associations for you to follow up on their advice. I do a limited number of consultancy visits around London and the south-east each year, but the main association for you to contact would be the Association of Security Consultants whose members come from the military, the police service and the security industry.
In the end my message to you is a simple one:
After a burglary, don’t get anxious, get advice!
Further advice about how to start securing your home can be found at this link: https://thecrimepreventionwebsite.com/home-security-assessment/755/how-to-start-securing-your-home/
