Sadly at this time of year the number of domestic burglaries tends to increase. Thieves know that many of us will have big piles of presents, often including expensive gadgets such as televisions and games consoles which make a tempting target for criminals. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure your home has the best protection available to discourage burglars from targeting you. The following are some of the best ways to keep your home and possessions safe.

Make sure your home is secure

Around a third of burglaries do not involve forced entry. In the majority of cases this means that a door or window was left open or unlocked allowing a thief easy access. One of the simplest and most effective ways to deter theft is to make absolutely sure that every point of access to your home is secure before you leave the house and before you go to bed at night. This also has the benefit of being completely free!

Install a burglar alarm

Even if your house is completely secure, that still won’t put off every potential burglar. An alarm system is one of the strongest deterrents money can buy with just the sight on one being enough to discourage most thieves. Beware of investing in fake alarms however, as experienced burglars will see right through these.

Security Lights

It is a well-established fact that fewer crimes happen in well-lit areas which is why good quality security lighting is such a popular crime prevention tool. Powerful motion-activated lights will instantly light up the area around your home, discouraging criminals without costing you a fortune in electricity.

Keep valuables out of sight

Burglars will usually spend some time snooping around your property before attempting entry. One of the reasons they do this is to try to work out if you have much that is worth stealing. Thieves tend to target high value items which can be easily carried away, so keeping items such as laptops, tablet computers and games consoles out of sight should significantly reduce the chances of your suffering a break-in.

Make them think you’re at home

Most thieves won’t even think about breaking in if they think you are at home. Lamps and radios can easily be fitted with timers allowing them to come on while you’re out to give the illusion that someone is in, without costing you a lot of money. Modern digital timers even allow you to set the timers to come on at different times on different days, to make the illusion more convincing if you are away for an extended period.