Christmas is almost upon us all once again, bringing with it, of course, the darker nights and as there are lots of presents about, and businesses are closed for longer periods than normal, all the more opportunity for those of a light-fingered persuasion.
The sad fact is that having those presents under your tree, or in the back of your car whilst out shopping, is something that thieves and intruders just cannot ignore. Every year, there is an increase in burglaries in the festive season, which is being celebrated in all the wrong ways by these wrongdoers.
Businesses suffer too, as often their premises are either full of extra stock, or are closed for longer periods over the Christmas break than is normal in the rest of the year. Again this is a draw to criminals, as they are always looking for easy options.
It is of course impossible for most people to ignore Christmas, which in turn means they could suffer from the attentions of the criminal fraternity. So, if they / you, cannot ignore it, what can they / you, do about it?
The answer is simple enough, improve your security measures and take a little extra care when shopping.
Hide That Shopping
Let’s take the shopping angle first. Even though online shopping has become the norm for many, people still go on shopping sprees at Christmas time, often buying so much that they have to return to their car halfway through their shopping expedition. But what some do then is to leave all the shopping on full display in the back seat of their car. Unfortunately, a car window is not that hard to break, one blow and they can be away with your purchases before anyone notices the car alarm bleeping. In such terrible circumstances, the poor would be present purchaser not only lose all the presents, but have to repair the damage to their car too.
The simple solution is to hide it all in the boot, as then you are only going to be targeted by someone who has seen you put it all in your boot, so keep an eye out for suspicious characters when going back to your car and when loading the boot. You may even want to move the car if you are worried.
Hide Those Presents
It’s natural to want to place all the presents you have bought for others (and perhaps for yourself?) under the Christmas tree, but you have to ask yourself, can people see them through a window? This is important, as that ‘someone’ could not have your best interests at heart.
So, if you must place those presents under the tree, try to make sure that they cannot be seen from a window, and if they can, delay placing them there until a few days before the celebrations really kick off. This greatly reduces the chances of an opportunistic attack along with all the pain and expense that they bring.
But What Else Can Be Done?
The tips on reducing the chances of ‘present theft’ are great, but what about businesses and the possibility of your home being targeted just because ‘it’s that time of year’?
Of course, using the same sort of precautions you take through the rest of the year, like having lights going on and off, or playing music, or having a Video door bell all help, but there is a much better way of reducing the chances of theft or mindless vandalism…
The Magic Solution
Truthfully, it is not ‘magic’ at all, but as it works like magic in most circumstances, it is certainly worth consideration.
But what is this fantastic solution you may ask?
Its all very simple really, all you have to do, whether you are a homeowner or a business owner is to employ a security firm like Wye Security Solutions…
Companies like ours cannot eradicate theft or damage to property, but we do make it far less likely to happen to the premises we protect.
We do this in three simple ways.
First, we put up a warning sign saying that we are protecting the property, something which causes most people with criminal intent to choose a softer target.
Then to back this up (and the criminal fraternity knows this) with mobile patrols and inspections of the said premises, these patrols never happening at the same time every day (like you see in the films), but randomly every day and night. That way they never know when we might show up and catch them in the act.
Alarm Response
The final level of protection we provide is that of response to incidents when they occur. Once an alarm is triggered you can be sure that one of our patrols will the there, on site in very short order. Again the criminals know this, a fact that reduces the amount of time they have to steal or to do damage.
This reduced ‘theft time’ can really reduce the amount of damage they can do to your festive season…
So, if you want to have a happy theft free Christmas, please do follow our ‘present hiding tips’ and if you want that extra level of security, contact us. We can help 365 days a year.
As they say ‘Wye Security is not just for Christmas’…