how to secruer my home and make it more safe.

[jane1]

with all these burlgaries going on around east dulwich, has any one got any good tip or hints on how we can all secruer our houses,

[Pickle]

Go and have a chat to the guys in the locksmith on Lordship Lane. They will come and do a security assessment for you, no obligation from memory, and then can obviously supply and fit any additional locks etc.

Otherwise it's common sense. Double lock doors, shut windows, leave lights on timer switches if you are away, get to know your neighbours and keep an eye out for each other.

[tomdhu]

Sorry to hear about the crime but it does seem to be on the increase.

Here are a few essential tips.

1. Have visible deterrence lights that come on automatically when motion detected plus ideally, camera, sensors and- both front and especially rear.

2. Make ingress and egress to the rear garden as difficult as possible.

3. Cut back foliage so that your neighbours can see into your front & rear areas.

4. Have a working alarm with a dialler.

5. Have a repeat alarm sounder at the rear. (Not just a dummy)

6. Mortice lock all external doors.

7. Make sure your door lock is not remotely accessible via the letter box or cat flap.

About 75% of all burglaries feature access from the REAR of the property.

The first thing the scrotes do is put the snib up on the front door lock so they don't get disturbed whilst they loot your property.

They start upstairs and work their way down.

They know where to look for hidden valuables. You may think it's hidden, but they know ALL the quaint places!

They go for money,jewelry, mobiles, ipads, ipods and laptops - in that order.

It all must fit in a backpack.

They will be in and out inside 4-5 minutes.

Put your valuables in a small safe. They cost around 50 quid and they simply bolt onto a wall. Well worth it!

They trade the info on the job to other crims.

They (or their mates) will do a repeat when the victim has replaced all the goodies that were nicked because they know it will be the latest models.

I've been a burglary victim before but never since I adopted the above measures.

Tom

[Penguin68]

The general rule with crime prevention is to increase the 'cost' to the burglar to a level where 'it just isn't worth it'. As an example - safes are 'cash-rated'. This means that a criminal would have to 'spend' so much to gain access to the safe, so you should put in it no more than the 'cost' to the criminal of gaining access. The rule of thumb is that valuables, like jewelry, earn a criminal 10% of their face (insurable) value. A safe 'cash-rated' at ?3000 can then be used to store valuables (other than cash, of course) up to a value of ?30,000.

You increase the 'cost' to the burglar in two main ways - making the house (and valuables within the house) more secure to gain access to (costing him/ her time and perhaps money to gain access) and making it more easy to get caught - with clear lines of sight and alarms.

You encourage burglary by having poor external security (simple locks, readily opened windows and so on), by making his/ her life more secure (obscured points of entry, no alarms) and by offering temptation (expensive and portable items clearly visible through windows).

However, if someone absolutely intends to burgle you, they will.

So a final method is to encourage your neighbours (or other close neighbourhoods) to be lax in their security - so diverting burglars' attentions to them. [Put another way, this is an arms war, but you are competing, as is so often the case, within your own species - you must out-run not the cheetah, but the other gazelles].

[tfm33]

Well I do hope that I'm not one of your neighbours, Penguin68.

[Penguin68]

You don't have to listen to my urgings just to leave your door on the latch and go out for a long walk...

[lane lover]

Very good points tomdhu: these preventative measures are relatively inexpensive and provide peace of mind. I would also add that most crime is opportunistic, so if your house looks more secure than the next (alarms, sensor lights etc), a burgler is likely to move to another house.

Another point I would like to make however, is that burglaries are not on the increase if you look at the latest available statistics in the area.

For instance, in the past four reported months, burglaries in the area are well down on last year (www.police.uk):

July: 52 v 61 in 2011 (down 15%)

August: 38 v 77 in 2011 (down 51%)

September: 52 v 62 in 2011 (down 16%)

October: 44 v 65 in 2011 (down 32%)

I think James Barber mentioned that a gang had been caught earlier this year, which always provides a material drop in the stats. Based on the above website, the crime in ED is also alot lower than you would expect when you compare with other areas of our capital.

Its the old adage that the forum makes ED seem like a crime hotspot, but we should use this medium as a form of prevention (i.e. learn from other crime "victims"), but not as a means to scare people. Advice from tomdhu is valuable, but posting on the forum saying "my house has been broken into" without giving details or "crime is getting out of control" doesnt really help without facts. Best to provide information to help catch these people and prevent future crimes, so we can all be on the lookout.

Being a victim of crime is terrible, but if we keep an eye out for our neighbours and use preventative measures, I am sure we can further reduce burglaries in 2013.

[northlondoner]

Statesman/woman-like response. Didn't realise burglary rates were down. Horrible crime nonetheless.

[KalamityKel]

Have to say I'm in agreement with Penguin here (don't ask me why?!!!)

You (generally not personally as in like many ED residents currently do) could also consider purchasing and using curtains/blinds/shutters when dark instead of having your living space fully illuminated for the whole street to have a good peek at your ridiculously huge telly, laptop, computer, state of the art sound system etc... may as well stick all your belongings on the street with a "help yourselves" sign!

[jane1]

-- moved topic --

[lizbells6]

As well as an alarm, does anyone else lock the internal doors when they go out?

[Gidget]

When I was burgled (not in this area) I had the local Crime Prevention Officer come round to advise me on what to do to make my flat more secure. I was a complete novice on things like that and he advised me on specific window locks etc. Your insurance will also be affected if you don't have the right locks in place and are burgled. If you rent, have a word with your landlord.

[polla2256]

Get a big dog - I would recommend a Tibetan mastiff

[jumpinjackflash]

polla2256 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Get a big dog - I would recommend a Tibetan

> mastiff

If you can't get a Tibetan Mastiff (I had a French one...he was a great guard dog..) get a 'Beware of the Dog' sticker and put it on the front/back doors. Preferably one with a snarling Rottweiler not a fluffy Shih Tzu. If I was a thief I'd probably think twice about breaking into a property that had a dog. Will cost you about a quid from any petshop.

Dummy Alarm (if you can't afford a real one) with flashing LED light might be a good deterrent too.

[DulwichFox]

http://www.signs4safety.co.za/1407-1734-large/beware-of-snakes-security-signs.jpg

Fox..

[jumpinjackflash]

even better..