Many people don’t pay as much attention to their home’s security during the daylight hours. This is because people tend to feel “safer” when not surrounded by darkness. However, when looking at statistics burglaries are just as likely to occur during the day.
Police in the Mid Suffolk are urging residents and local farmers to step up security and be vigilant after reports of a number of burglaries in January 2013, within the Stowmarket, Debenham, Eye, Helmingham, Felsham, Ringshall, Coddenham, Stonham Aspal, Westhorpe, Palgrave, Stradbroke and Worlingworth areas. Of these burglaries 17 have occurred during the daylight hours, with 5 having occurred in Mid Suffolk South, 3 in the Stowmarket area, 6 in Mid Suffolk Central area and 3 in Mid Suffolk North area.
A burglary at a property can occur at anytime day or night, in fact many burglaries occur during the day, as offenders tend to blend in better with the surroundings and are able to offer more plausible excuses should they be challenged, such as “I am lost”, “I was looking for Mr X who lives somewhere around here”, “I thought this property was for sale” and “I’ve lost my dog”, along with various other excuses that can be more easily made during the normal daylight working hours.
If your home is unoccupied during the day here are a few tips to help you to improve security:
· Always lock your doors and windows when you leave the house, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
· Remove tools/objects from within your garden that could be used by an offender to break in with.
· Use lights and, especially during the day, radios on timers.
· Never assume that your garage will be safe while unlocked, even if you’re currently at home.
· Insert a ground anchor that can be positioned by the front of the garage to prevent it from being opened.
· If your entrance does not have shared access install gates and lock them when no one is at home.
· Store ALL important valuables out of sight and if possible in a hidden wall or floor safe.
· If your children are of a suitable age and are going to be home alone, be sure that they know never to open the door to a stranger.
· Keep hedging/fencing around front perimeters no more than one metre high, so that anyone entering your property can be seen by passers by.
Finally we are asking for residents to help to be our eyes and ears in the community. If you see something suspicious, or out of the ordinary then please report it and whenever possible report it straight away. Please do not leave it to someone else, we would sooner have a number of calls on the same suspicious person, than none at all.
Please remember that where you believe a crime is about to be or is in the progress or lives are threatened calling 999 from a mobile is also free of charge.
Please use the following link to pass useful information to Suffolk Police about any incident. http://www.suffolk.police.uk/safetyadvice/reportacrime/tellthepolice.aspx