The burglars referendum
That EU Referendum, hey? The Barnsley Locksmith take on this! Is it possible to remember a time before the campaigning started? No, I’m not sure it is. The saturation coverage seems to be never ending, and whatever the result on the 23rd June, it’ll frankly be a relief when it’s all over. Of course, with the latest polls showing things are about 50/50, I’m not about to alienate half of my potential customers by coming down on one side or another. No, rather I’m going to use the referendum as an excuse to make this plot halfway topical, by crowbarring in a referendum-esque theme.
The Yes/No decision I’ll look at in this blog is now one about the common market, open borders, or Nigel Farage’s beer-drinking. Rather, it’s one that every burglar makes when looking at a house and deciding whether to attempt a break-in or not. I’ll be looking at some of the factors they take into account before making their Yes/No choice. It’s a tenuous connection to the referendum, I know, but it’s what I’m going with. And hopefully by looking at this list, you can quickly discover things you can do to help prevent your house being the burglar’s next target
The Burglar’s Referendum then. Let’s start with the “in” campaign.
Arguments for break in
- House alarm box not visible, or noticeably run down.
- Old style, easily “snappable” locks on exterior doors
- Facebook or Twitter posts indicating owners are on holiday
- Open upstairs windows and ladders left out in garden
- Tools/outdoor toys or bicycles left on display
- High, solid fences at front of house, easily scaled, giving cover from watching neighbours
- No visible outside lighting giving cover of darkness
- Valuables on display through windows – including purses, wallets, car keys etc.
Conversely the arguments against may be as follows:
Argument for making a swift exit
- Maintained house alarm on display
- Anti-Snap locks preventing quick access
- Secured windows
- no equipment left out in garden
- Signs of life in house
- Motion-activated security lights outside house
- Metal gates, or wooden gates of under a metre at front of house – these will impede access, but (unlike solid high wooden gates) will crucially NOT give burglars space to hide from neighbours.
- Gravel drives, giving away the presence of anyone approaching.
- High fences or hedges made from spiky plants at rear of property restricting access
So this hasn’t quite been Question Time or Panorama, but hopefully looking through these lists of items a burglar will consider before making their decision will help you identify any failings in your current home security. Regardless of whether that be in or out of Europe.