Dear Residents
As promised during Monday night’s meeting with the Police Borough Commander, security advice from Surrey Police is set out below.
HOME SECURITY
When you go out … make sure your alarm is set and in working order. Ensure your property alarm is linked to a nominated keyholder, or Surrey Police, or a monitoring company.
Leave lights on if you are going to be out after dusk (currently 18.21hrs) – you can buy LED plug in lights which come on and dusk and go off at dawn (Amazon ~ £8.99 each).
Consider buying a fake TV and switch it on in an upstairs room facing a plain wall – the blinds/curtains need to be open – from outside it looks as though someone is at home watching TV and offers a simple yet effective deterrent (Amazon ~ £14.95).
Perhaps buy a ‘dog barking alarm motion sensor’ if you don’t have a dog. It has realistic dog barking sounds and works on a motion detector and you can set the volume and distance before the motion detector is set off (Amazon SSeldorauk ~ £45).
Consider getting ‘Ringdoorbell’ (Ring battery or wired video doorbell – some have an indoor camera too (~£60+).
Consider getting ‘Ring’ cameras overlooking your gate at the front and rear garden – prices vary as to sophistication level.
DO NOT leave keys in locks (windows & doors). A burglar can ‘let themselves in’ by smashing the glass and reaching through.
CHECK your home’s digital footprint by typing your house name and road into Google search. Review the results. If there are old sales brochures containing floor plans, detailed photographs, drone videos etc, contact the relevant estate agents and ask for the information to be removed. Remember that many brochures contain descriptive phrases such as “secluded position” and “separate staff accommodation” which provides useful information for those planning crimes.
There are You Tube video tours currently available of houses on the Estate. Again, these provide valuable information. Please be aware and ask relevant property agents etc to remove them.
BE AWARE of interior designers/contractors/gardeners and especially alarm/security companies etc who may post images of your property on their websites or on their social media accounts. Review the information and ask for it to be removed.
GARDEN/PROPERTY BOUNDARY
Consider defensive planting around your boundaries and fence lines (Pyracantha/holly/spiky plants are ideal).
Make sure any garden furniture is put away for the winter or moved right away from your house; burglars can use these to help climb up to the first floor).
Make sure bins are not left by a gate to aid climbing.
Make sure all side gates and sheds are locked.
Gravel driveways and paths will make sure you hear anyone approaching.
Consider installing outside motion detector lights outside your property and overlooking your vehicles on the driveway (burglars don’t like these).
If you have a post box outside your property, consider fitting a one to a pillar on a gate post (if you have one) and make sure it has a ‘deep’ box and a very narrow opening so no one can get their hand inside.
VEHICLE CRIME
DO NOT leave any valuables in your vehicles overnight. There have been a large amount of golf clubs and golfing equipment (worth up to £10k) stolen from car boots, and the owners all said ‘they were out of sight.’
When you leave your vehicle on the driveway overnight, please ensure that the alarm is set and the vehicle is locked.
Keep your car keys inside a ‘Faraday pouch’ or box. Even a metal tin with a lid will do the same job, and DO NOT leave your keys near the front door where suspects may pick up a signal using a relay device. (Amazon – Faraday pouch/bag ~£10).
Consider purchasing a couple of ‘Apple AirTag’ and hiding them at the bottom of the vehicle boot (somewhere where they can’t easily be found) – 1 x Apple AirTag ~ £28 or 4 x Apple AirTag £75. If your vehicle gets stolen, it is likely that you can track its location by the AirTag. A good number of vehicles have been recovered using this method.
With kind regards,
Claire Webb
