If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you’ll probably have heard that the UK’s police force have suffered further budget cuts, and are having to respond to the increase in ‘new’ crimes, such as identify theft and computer crime.
As reported recently in the Daily Telegraph, the new head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council – Chief Constable Sara Thornton – has said police resources are so stretched that if you suffer a burglary and you report it to the police, they may not do anything about it.
“Crime is changing in this country,” Thornton said recently. “There are a lot less burglaries than there used to be, a lot less car crime, but the sorts of crimes that are on the increase – sexual offences, concerns about terrorism, cyber-crime – that’s where we really need to focus. We need to move from reacting to some of those traditional crimes to thinking about focusing on threat and harm and risk and really protecting the public. If we’re really serious about putting a lot of effort and resource into protecting children, for example, that might mean that if you’ve had a burglary, for example, and the burglar has fled, we won’t get there as quickly as we have in the past.”
There are, on average, around 32,000 burglaries each month in the UK. That may sound a huge number, but it represents a massive drop from around 62,000 just five years ago. Even though the number of burglaries in the UK is dropping, the lack of help you are now likely to receive from the police means you should take all measures possible to help prevent your home from being broken into.
At Wandsworth Sash Windows we take the security of our customer’s homes very seriously, which is why we always discuss a number of aspects of home security with our clients:
- Safety glass – All points of entry which contain glass such as French doors or glass-fronted front or back doors should contain toughened or tempered glass. Safety glass can also be laminated, or moulded to incorporate a wire mesh, and all three techniques can be combined. Safety glass is much tougher to break than ordinary glass, and works as a necessary deterrent to thieves.
At Wandsworth Sash Windows we can offer laminated glass. This type of glass is especially safe as it does not shatter on impact, and remains in situ instead.
- Locks – French doors and rear doors especially benefit from the addition of a five-point multi-lock system. When locked, bolts are drawn up and down the frame to create five locking points, as opposed to a single locking point as with traditional locks. A five-point multi-lock system turns an access point into a virtually impenetrable barrier.
Front doors can also be secured by making sure that Yale deadlocks and night latches are used that conform to British Standards of Security.
- Visibility – the majority of burglaries are opportunistic rather than pre-meditated. The trend for net curtains has long since diminished, meaning in most homes items such as large screen TVs and game consoles are on view to anyone who happens to pass by.
You can keep your items safe by installing shutters on ground-level windows, and sandblasted glass on front doors. You might want to consider growing high hedges in your front garden to help secure your privacy.
If you own a commercial building you may wish to think about the installation of security grills. Miscreants assume that office buildings contain more items of expensive equipment such as computers and peripherals than homes, so it’s more likely to be worth their while to break in.
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of improving your home security, then at Wandsworth Sash Windows we’re happy to give advice. Call us on 02079247303.
