Make Sure Santa is the Only one Sneaking into your Home this Christmas!

Christmas is coming, but unfortunately so are soaring crime rates! It may be the season of good will but regrettably not everyone is willing to be good!

38 is the percentage household theft rises by in the months after the clocks have gone back and last winter saw a 25% rise in burglary claims.

As the dark winter nights roll in and Christmas creeps up on us, thieves not only have the cover of night to help them hide their criminal activity, but also have more opportunity to carry it out. With Christmas parties to attend, family to visit and shopping trips to be taken, people are away from their homes for longer; and with dark evenings and lights off – it’s easy for robbers to spot who’s out.

Likewise, there is much more for thieves to gain; with homes filled with expensive gifts, food and alcohol ready for the festivities, crooks may well decide Christmas has come early – for them!

Simple measures like having lights on a timer and hiding valuables can make all the difference to the overall security of a property. However, by making better choices with door hardware and upgrading the likes of locks, letter plates and door chains for more secure ones, door installers and manufacturers could play a big part in making their customers’ homes safer.

With 25% of Brits admitting to having no home security at all, door fabricators now need to step up and ensure they are selling secure products with secure hardware, as well as advising customers on their home security decisions.

Here are ten top tips for homeowners this Christmas: 

1 – Upgrade your euro cylinder to a Kitemarked one.

2 – Make sure your lock is the right size and not overhanging.

3 – Install a door chain and use it when answering the door.

4 – Keep any house or car keys away from the front door as they can be ‘fished’ through the letterbox.

5 – Install a letterbox restrictor shroud – this will limit the opening of the letterbox flap to 40 degrees so nothing can be removed through the it.

6 – Get rid of any spare keys you might be hiding under a plant pot or rock.

7 – Install a sash jammer on all your downstairs windows to stop the levering of the sash leaf from the outside.

8 – Invest in visible security measures such as an alarm or fake alarm box.

9 – Don’t leave your valuables on display – inside or outside your property.

10 – Don’t advertise where you are on social media – burglars are using Facebook and Twitter to target homes.

So our message this winter is – make security a priority! With the average cost of a domestic burglary amounting to around £2,178 – we are sure your customers will thank you!