Holiday Season Prompts Urgent Attention to Home Security

With the summer holiday season here again many of us are looking forward to our vacations away from home. But its vitally important we all take care to protect our homes and possessions against thieves, intruders and vandalism while we’re away. In this latest post we provide actionable tips to make your home secure while you’re away.

Being away from home for maybe couple of weeks, or even just a few days, provides burglars and thieves with plenty of opportunity to access your property and help themselves to your belongings. Home security involves paying close attention to a number of basic precautions which we cover in this post including door and window security, locks, perimeter security, lighting, alarms, CCTV and protecting valuables.

Neighbourhood Watch

We’ve previously discussed the value of the neighbourhood watch scheme and local groups. Neighbourhood watch is all about building communities with a central focus on security and crime prevention. If there is a neighbourhood watch group in your area its worthwhile joining them and letting the group know when you’ll be away from home so they can keep an eye on your property.

If there isn’t a neighbourhood watch group in your area you might like to consider setting one up. And its always a good idea to let your immediate neighbours know when you are going away on holiday and asking them to keep a watchful eye on your home.

Home Insurance

Your home insurance provider can provide an abundance of valuable security advice and guidance. Its also worth confirming your insurance policy adequately covers your property and contents while you are away. If you’re planning a longer vacation you may need to consider unoccupied house insurance.

An important aspect of your home insurance policy is to make certain the locks used around your home fully comply with the insurance company requirements. Using insurance approved locks provides the best protection and avoids the headache of having insurance claims rejected due to the use of non-approved locks.

And it`s vitally important to make certain your home insurance policy provides adequate cover for all your valuables. Including tools and other items stored in your shed or outbuildings.

Perimeter Security

A secure property perimeter tells would-be intruders that the occupiers take their home security seriously. Before departing on your vacation its worthwhile inspecting all aspects of your property boundary and taking steps to make it more secure, wherever needed.

Ensure all fences, walls and hedges are in a good state of repair and ideally don’t provide burglars with concealed areas where they can break in without being seen. Its generally recommended that fences or hedges are kept low at the front of a property so the property can be seen by passers by.

Entrance gates should always be locked and bolted and there should be nothing left outdoors that might attract criminal attention and possibly used to break in, such as ladders or even wheelie bins that can be used as platforms. It`s also worth being aware that criminals are known to have used wheelie bins to transport their stolen booty, so investing in a wheelie bin lock may be sensible.

Its important to recognise how structures such as drainpipes can be used to gain access to upper storey windows. Wherever there is a climbing risk its worth looking at anti climb protection, such as the application of anti climb paint on drainpipes and walls.

Window and Door Security

Windows and doors are the primary entry points used by burglars so its essential to make them as secure as possible. This means paying attention to the locks used and ensuring they are high quality, fully comply with home insurer requirements and, of course, locked before you depart on your holidays.

Its also important to look at door and window hinges as well as the door and window frames. Look out for signs of deterioration and make certain all window and door frames are robust and reliable.

Another useful security precaution is to identify windows that are never opened and consider making them permanently closed by screw fixing them to their window frames. In some areas window security might be significantly strengthened by installing window security bars.

Security Lighting

Burglars like to work unseen so security lighting that either turns on when triggered by movement or is automatically turned on when it gets dark or by a timer, is very valuable. Most intruders will be deterred if they are brightly illuminated when they attempt to break in.

Alarms

A great selection of home security alarm systems are now available. From basic systems designed to protect just one specific door or window to more sophisticated systems involving security company patrols and and remote monitoring.

Simple home security alarm systems can be installed by someone with basic DIY skills and a few simple tools. If you install an alarm system or individual door or window alarms its worthwhile letting neighbours know so they can call the police if an alarm is triggered.

CCTV

Closed circuit camera systems have become increasingly affordable and easy to install in recent years. Many of today’s systems can be remotely monitored, from anywhere in the world, using a mobile phone. They will even send alerts when a camera detects movement. So even when you are sunbathing in Spain you can be notified when someone is approaching your home so you can take a look at your security cameras to see who it was and what they were doing.

Smart doorbells with built in cameras have become very common, enabling people to see who is at their door without opening it. But there have been cases of smart doorbell theft and since these devices are connected to home wi-fi networks they can present a hacking risk. If you have a smart doorbell system its important to protect it from hackers by ensuring the use of a unique, secure password, making certain the doorbell software is up-to-date and using two-factor authentication. Another option, when going away on vacation, is to turn the system off.

Garden Security

An aspect of home security that’s often overlooked is outdoor, garden security. Burglars know there are plenty of valuable items left outdoors and these are far easier to steal and resell, than valuables inside the home. Items stolen from gardens, such as hanging baskets, are often quickly resold via car boot sales.

Its worth being aware of what thieves are looking out for. They are stealing pot plants, planters, hanging baskets and even digging up exotic and specialist plants and trees which can cost many thousands to replace. Statues and garden ornaments are also a common target for garden thieves.

Garden furniture is also popular with thieves who know they can resell these items very easily. And they are always on the lookout for garden tools, mowers and other outdoor equipment they can grab and resell at a weekend boot sale.

When going away on vacation its important to securely lock valuables away in a shed, garage or outhouse. And any garden based items that can’t be easily moved should ideally be securely attached to an immovable anchor point and wherever possible, security labelled.

Digging up and relocating valuable plants is obviously not an option. This is another key reason why its important to pay attention to perimeter security, lighting, CCTV security and making certain your neighbours know you’re away and that nobody should be helping themselves to your valuable plants.

Its also important to keep a record of what’s in your garden so you can report anything that goes missing. Taking photographs of your prized plants, trees and garden fixtures before going away is a wise precaution.

Sheds, Garages and Outbuildings

As noted, outdoor, garden security is often overlooked by people who hurry to bolster their home security before departing on their annual vacation. An important aspect of outdoor security is paying attention to your shed, garage or outbuildings. As we’ve previously discussed, people are often surprised by the value of the items they store in their outbuildings. Lawnmowers, bicycles, motorbikes, garden furniture and tools are all very costly to replace so its far better to protect them from thievery as far as possible.

As for the main home, paying attention to window and door security is equally vital around all outbuildings. This means making certain outbuilding doors and windows are locked using high quality, robust locks and being certain all hinges, door and window frames, along with building structures, are in good repair and don’t offer easy access to intruders. For example, some thieves are known to have gained access to garden sheds by lifting the roof so its important to make certain this is not possible. The security of shed or outbuilding doors can be significantly bolstered using easily installed shed door security bars.

As noted, outdoor security lighting that brightly illuminates outbuildings will deter many would-be intruders. And when coupled with CCTV cameras security lighting provides both deterrence and the ability to identify home invaders. Alarms can also be installed, triggered when a door or window is opened and alerting the neighbours.

Security Signage

Time and money spent assessing and bolstering home security and installing effective security measures isn’t wasted. And letting would-be burglars know your home is protected is a good way to put them off.

Home security systems often include signage announcing: ‘This Home is Protected by XYZ’. And if you have applied security labels to your valuables similar signage might be displayed. Warning signage like this prompt burglars to move on to find a more viable targets that can’t be traced back to their owners.

Keep Information Secure

An important aspect of home security while on vacation is making certain only those who need to know are aware you are away from home. This means cancelling deliveries such as milk or newspapers and not announcing your holiday plans on social media.

It`s also important to make certain your wall calendar, on which you have highlighted your holiday dates, can`t be seen by any prying eyes.

And while you’re away don’t be tempted to share any of your holiday images via social media. If someone with criminal intent gets to hear about your home being empty they, or one of their associates, may be tempted to take advantage and steal whatever they can. So while it may be tempting to share images on Instagram, possibly from the airport on your departure, don’t do it. Save all your holiday snaps and share them after you return home. 

Make it Look Like Someone is at Home

Making it look like there is someone at home is another valuable precaution that will put off many burglars. This can be achieved by putting lights, a radio even possibly a TV, on timer switches to turn them on and off at various times during the day.

Another useful tactic is to ask a neighbour to park their car on your drive from time to time while you’re away. They may even be happy to come inside and draw your curtains, possibly while taking care of your house-plants.

Protect Valuables

All valuable items need to be identified and robustly protected while you’re away from home, enjoying your vacation. These valuables might include jewellery, computers, bicycles motorbikes and more. Its also important to remember how personal information can be extremely valuable to criminals intent on stealing your identity.

Ideally, small size valuable items, along with personal documentation, should be securely locked away in a safe or strongbox that can’t be moved. Items such as bicycles, scooters, lawnmowers and expensive tools should be securely locked away, out of sight, in a shed or garage. And ideally they should be chained and locked to an immovable anchor point inside the locked storage location.

Applying security identification labels to property is another valuable precaution. When thieves know that items have been security marked they also know they will be difficult or even impossible to sell on. And when the police recover stolen property the security labelling enables items to be returned to their rightful owners.

Taking photographs of valuable items, including garden plants and ornaments, is another valuable precaution.

Employ a Homesitter

Leaving a home empty while away on vacation can cause significant stress and anxiety, preventing some people from relaxing and enjoying their time away. An option to consider might be employing a property sitter. This is a service offered by some professional homesitting businesses but it can be equally fulfilled by a reliable relative or friend.

If you have pets a home sitter allows them to remain in their normal surroundings and avoids the stress of being placed in kennels or strange environments. And if you have house or garden plants that need regular water or maintenance a home sitter can be an ideal option. They can also collect mail deliveries, maintain the garden and ensure the property continues to look lived-in and continuously occupied.

For more information on Holiday Season Prompts Urgent Attention to Home Security talk to Insight Security