How to keep you homes and possessions safe this summer
The Summer is upon us all and temperatures are truly rising to what at times are record breaking records. Many folks head off on holiday leaving too many tell-tale signs and sadly with a heatwave comes open windows. And with this comes an increase in burglar visits.
Our client former burglar Michael Fraser was a teen who realised very quickly that after a life of care he didn’t want a life in jail so he changed his tune and decided to go straight.
He is now regarded as the UK’s top expert on home and possession security, and yesterday he appeared on This Morning to help viewers keep their homes and belongings safe.
Talking with Ruth and Eamonn Michael Fraser offered his top tips and they include:
Michael told the This Morning audience to think like a burglar because the more you do to protect your home the less likely he is going burgle you. The opportunist burglar looks for the easiest target.
- Don’t leave a calendar on view as a burglar can look through the window and see when you are away.
- Take handbags and man bags upstairs and a letterbox cage prevents letterbox fishing.
- Make sure you have a deadlock on your front door and use it – a normal Yale key is not enough.
- And if you can’t afford an alarm system consider a security camera system like NEST and a doorbell with a camera if as you can monitor each of them on your phone whilst you are lying on the beach in the Maldives or sitting at your desk in your offices around the corner from your home.
- Finally NEVER advertise the fact you have a pet. Every burglar knows that if there’s a cat or dog in the house, there may not be a movement-sensitive alarm as the animal would end up setting it off.
Michael Fraser has co-presented many TV series including To Catch a Thief, Going Straight and Beat the Burglar. He also works with companies and organisations to help highlight and encourage people to protect their possessions.
For Wickes How Safe is Your Shed campaign, he actually found a shed that was so poorly secured that he broke in to it with the owners’s partner’s permission and transported it and all its contents to the owners workplace – you can see the shock on the poor man’s face here as the transporter turned up!