Housing Community Safety

2. Your home

A lot of burglaries can be prevented. Most are committed by opportunist thieves, and in 2 burglaries out of 10 the thief does not have to force his way in because a door or window has been left open.

Burglars like easy opportunities. They don't like locked windows because breaking glass attracts attention. They don't like security deadlocks on doors because they cannot open them even from the inside and they have to get out through a window.

Simple precautions like these do work:

Looking after your flat

For extra safety fit a strong front door, fitted with hinge bolts which stop someone pulling the door from its hinges and fix a special steel strip into the door frame.

Door entry systems

If your block does not have a telephone entry system, talk to the landlord or council about putting one in. This may be easier if you get together with other tenants to form a tenants' association. If you do have a telephone entry system, don't let strangers in or hold the door open for someone who is arriving as you are leaving.

Strangers

Be alert to people loitering in residential streets. If it is no one you recognise, be on your guard.

Burglar alarms

Visible burglar alarms make burglars think twice.

Front door roof

A thief could reach 1st floor windows from this roof - so fit window locks.

Gates and fences

A high wall or fence at the back of a house can put off burglars. Check for weak spots where a thief could get in. A thorny hedge along a boundary can also be a useful deterrent. Make sure the front of the house is still visible to passers by, so that a burglar can not work unseen.

Small windows

Even small windows like casement windows, skylights or bathroom fanlights need locks. A thief can get in through any gap larger than a human head.

Spare keys

Never leave a spare key in a hiding place like under a doormat, in a flowerpot or inside a letterbox - a thief will look there first.

Garages and sheds

Never leave a garage or garden shed unlocked, especially if it has a connecting door to the house. Lock tools and ladders away so that a thief cannot use them to break in.

Side passages

Stop a thief getting to the back of the house - where he can work with less chance of being seen - by fitting a high gate across the passage. If you share an alleyway with a neighbour, talk to him or her about sharing the cost.

Contact

Stephen Clarke

Divisional Director of Housing Services

Roycraft House

15 Linton Road

Barking

IG11 8HE

Tel: 020 8227 3738

Fax: 020 8227 5730

Textphone: 020 8227 5755

Email: stephen.clarke@lbbd.gov.uk|