With festive season looming larger than Santa’s belly and many Brits returning to the familial bosom for the Christmas season, new research has explored just how security conscious the Brits are when it comes to their homes and possessions whilst they’re away.
The research, from Direct Blinds, suggests that more than a third of Brits are planning a Christmas getaway this year and this, combined with a mixture of oversharing online and a lack of security precautions, could mean that people are putting their homes at risk of criminal damage and theft.
With this on our minds as we sit in our home office typing (yeah, you heard us, potential burglars, we’re here!), we’ve compiled a few tips to help you keep your home as castle-like as possible. So, here are 5 IDEAL ways to keep your house safe while you’re away away for Christmas.
AVOID OVERSHARING YOUR LOCATION
While you may be ‘driving home for Christmas’ and wanting to stoke up some enthusiasm for your return by sharing it with the world, these four words plus a loose attitude to privacy settings could reveal a house free of occupation and a potential target for criminals.
22% of people admitted to sharing photos on holiday, 19% will ‘check in’ to bars and restaurants, and 9% tag themselves at the airport when they are about to jet off. Some do not recognise this as being a potential issue though, with 12.6% of the public not believing that their online social media activity could be affecting their home security at all.
If you feel you must share your excitement for the festive season with the family, make sure it’s only directed at ‘friends’, and avoid any announcements on very public spheres such as Twitter and Instagram.
TURN ON LIGHTS OR RADIO FROM TIME TO TIME
A house shrouded in darkness and silence is a telltale sign that the residents are away. This tell is simply remedied by setting a timer to periodically switch on lights in the house to give the impression of habitance. Time your festive lights to come on outside. Go one step further and set your digital radio to turn on, say, in the evening, to give the impression of chatter.
HAVE A FRIEND OR NEIGHBOUR KEEP AN EYE OUT
Direct Blinds’ research states that 72% of people said that they feel safest knowing that their homes are being checked in on by a friend, neighbour or family member but despite this, only a tiny 10% regularly request this favour from a trusted person. This says more about what an introverted society we are, rather than provisions put in place for home safety, we think. Regardless, this is a secure, sensible method to ensure activity at your empty house as well as peace of mind that everything is ship shape.
FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, LOCK THE DOORS!
Hey, the most obvious, the most failsafe, but also one which is sometimes neglected (we know we do). So, for goodness sake, remember to lock those doors! Break-ins usually result from opportunism, so don’t make things easy for potential thieves. And if you do lock your doors, at least make sure your locks work. Indeed, when you go away for Christmas it is always a worry leaving your home, especially if you don’t have the most secure locks in the world. So check out companies like Fast Keys who pride themselves on having some of the strongest, reliable locks out there.
CANCEL THE PAPERS AND MILK
A little old school, we know, but still a pertinent point and one which could apply to any delivery we think. Cancelling the daily newspaper or milk is essential, as a build up of stuff on your doorstep indicates either an extremely lazy resident lives here or more likely, one who is not present.
You should also give directions for packages arriving from the Royal Mail, ASOS et al, to place deliveries in a secure, hidden location for the same reason (and so it doesn’t get nabbed from your doorstep, of course!)
