Preventing residential burglary through good planning
Friday, 15th April 2022
Most crime is opportunistic. The potential offender sees a chance and takes a chance.
And that is a good thing because each of us can increase our safety by removing the opportunity and making our environment uncomfortable for the thief.
Thieves don’t like being in places where they can be recognised or feel like they are being watched. You can deter criminals by:
- Allow natural line of sight from and to neighbours around you.
- Make sure your property and home are well lit so you can see what is happening outside and also let potential criminals out there know someone is keeping an eye on them.
- Keep hedges and bushes around windows low so you are able to see out of them and you don’t have areas where potential criminals can hide from sight.
- Use motion sensors lights
Thieves will often have a good idea of the best way they will break into a house and like to feel in control. We can attempt to stop thieves by controlling where they can and cannot access on your property. The aim is to make it harder for criminals to reach their targets, therefore reducing their opportunity to commit a crime.
- Fence off areas of your property you do not want unwanted people to gain access to – make sure you securely lock fences and gates
- Think about planting thorny bushes along the walkway to your front door or around windows to keep people out of where they shouldn’t be.
- Lock all your doors and windows, including your garage – the easiest way a thief can get into your house is through an unlocked door or window (which occurs in 1 in 5 of residential burglaries in Victoria).
While having visible security items on your property can deter potential thieves how-ever we’re not taking about making your home like a Fort Knox with high fences and window bars. Installing security measures that can be seen is essential to preventing crime in your house.
- Invest in high quality locks on all your doors and windows – some ideas included looking into three-point latch lock for your front door and locking/bolting your garage shut to improve security.
- Install strong core doors at all points of entry with a solid frame
- Secure safes to permanent structures in your house
Crime prevention information from Neighbourhood Watch Victoria.
Source: Neighbourhood Watch Victoria
