Mark Ranola.
Since my last article, there have been further burglaries which are suspected to be part of the same series. In two cases, car keys were stolen and the cars were taken.
Expensive cars are not always the target, but when the keys are left in places they are easy to see, then this will provide any criminal with an opportunity.
Most of us will leave our belongings in similar places. For example, car keys are normally found in the hall or on a worktop in the kitchen side. Jewellery is kept in drawers of bedroom furniture or in jewellery boxes on top of bedroom furniture. All these places are both predictable and on view.
For a criminal it is all too easy to find what they are looking for and from a victim`s perspective, it is easy to make small, but effective changes to protect your property by simply putting things in less obvious places.
When someone breaks into a home they will want to find what they are looking for and leave as quickly as possible, therefore if they can`t find things they want in a short space of time, they are likely to leave and go on to find another target.
I appreciate that a burglary is likely to happen somewhere, but when you are thinking of your own home and family, then this is something within your control and something that you are able to control to a certain extent and you can`t worry about what criminals might do elsewhere – this is for the police to engage with the community and offer crime prevention advice.
There is no need to hide things and make your live more difficult than needed – just by leaving things in less obvious places can make a difference.
Properly recording the items you have in your home is very important too. All computers will have a make, model number and a serial number, the last being the unique number which will identify a specific item.
Items such a computers, TV`s, phones and cameras will all have these and by making a list of what you have and keeping this safe, will help the police know what has been stolen and also the potential recovery of it.
It is this time of year when people buy gifts, or they have spent during the period from Black Friday to the New Year in the sales. Criminals will know this and they are generally more active in this period where they will be looking out for opportunities to steal.
Making your home more secure is the first thing to do, but if you do have property stolen, then knowing what has been stolen where you can confirm a make, model and serial number, will greatly assist in the possible recovery of it.
Speaking about the burglary series I have written about, since my article about this, there have been a number of properties that the police have executed warrants at, and there have been arrests in relation to the burglaries and jewellery recovered.
Provided people have images of their stolen items, or know serial numbers of other types of stolen property, not only can the police return it to the rightful owner, but it also provides evidence to prosecute for burglary offences, or handling stolen goods.
Hampshire Constabulary endorse Immobilise.Com, which is a private security company where you can set up an account and register all sorts of property. This service is free and the police will have access to the database, so it is easy for officers to search it for stolen property when they seize items during various police investigations.
I wish all Everest Times readers a very happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.
