DON'T make it easy for burglars as the temperatures soar by securing your home.

Tackling break-ins is a Cumbria police priority and statistics show that over 60 per cent of burglaries are via insecure properties with burglars getting in via open windows and unlocked doors. 

To prevent your home being an easy target for thieves, please take some time now to assess the security of your home. 

The following advice will help to keep your home and possessions safe:

• Lock doors & windows before you go out 

• Remove keys from locks & keep out of reach of windows & doors 

• Ensure side gates & sheds are locked 

• Keep gifts, cash & valuables safe & well hidden, so they can’t be seen or reached by thieves 

• Consider fitting a burglar alarm and low energy dusk to dawn lighting, check regularly to ensure they work 

• Ensure your house is secure, preventing someone entering when you are busy elsewhere in the house or garden 

• Postcode your valuables with a UV pen, consider registering them on www.immobilise.com 

• Leave a light on in a room & draw curtains when you go out at night 

• Look out for your neighbour’s property 

• Consider joining a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme  and cancel newspapers, milk etc when you go on holiday 

• Make sure callers to your home are genuine, always ask for ID

How Secure is Your Shed? 

Police often find that as summer approaches and the grass begins to grow, crime also starts to grow as garden sheds become a target for thieves. People often do not realise just how much the property in their shed is worth. How secure is your shed and the property inside it? Please consider the tips below.

• Do not keep valuables in your garden shed, keep these safely within your home. 

• Ensure the door to your shed is secure, use close shackle padlocks 

• Use coach bolts or non-return screws to secure door hinges 

• Visibly and permanently mark any property stored in your shed, keeping a note of any serial numbers 

• Chain tools, lawnmowers, strimmers, ladders etc to a fixed object inside the shed where possible 

• Consider locating your shed where you can see it from your house 

• Lock any access gates that lead to your shed or garden 

• Consider installing a shed alarm and security lighting