Thursday, 07 May 2015
Living in the countryside with the peace and tranquility is something that a lot of people aspire to in life, however living in the middle of nowhere still makes you a target for thieves.
Rural crime continues to rise year on year with an estimated £44.5 million worth of valuables stolen in 2013 (source: NFU Mutual). The reason for this is down to remote locations giving thieves more time to carry out their robbery.
Rural properties also tend to be places with higher value items like machinery, tools, vehicles and quad bikes which are desired by thieves.
So how can you keep yourself secure? These security tips will help set you on the right track.
Outbuildings
If you have outbuildings, barns or garages make sure they are secured with high quality padlocks, locks and alarms. These will be the first place burglars will head towards as usually they are a good source of items to steal and they can sometimes do it without disturbing the residents. Also by keeping them locked you’re removing a potential hiding place that could be used to attack you from or used to watch your house from.
Confuse watching eyes
Countryside living allows thieves plenty of places to monitor your activities from without being seen (outbuildings, high hedges etc). They will use their hiding places to learn your behaviours and find a suitable time to break-in. To avoid this get your house kitted out with timers for your house lights which will switch on and off at random times when you are out to confuse watching thieves. Fake TV lights are also handy; they replicate the light flickering you get from a switched on television set. By doing the above steps it will put doubt in the mind of the thief and cause them to move on.
Neighbours
If you are away on holiday it is always a good idea to ask a neighbour to come around to open & close curtains, move your post/newspapers or even leave one of their cars on your drive. This will help confuse any watching eyes.
Secure the perimeter
Make sure all fences and hedges are in a good state of repair to remove any unauthorised access points. If you have fields surrounding the property or farm tracks, ensure the gates leading to them are always locked. This will prevent the thief bringing a vehicle up close to your home. Again this will put them off as they are aiming to use their vehicle to take as much as possible away with them (they will even try and get your quad bikes etc onto trailers they bring with them).
Lights, Camera, Action
In the countryside with the absence of street lighting it is important to install security lighting to help remove the burglar’s biggest strength: darkness. Other good deterrents are prominently displayed alarm boxes and CCTV cameras (even dummy ones). Most thieves won’t want to risk setting off alarms or being seen on camera so by having these items it will cause them to abandon their plans to break into your property.
Author: Paul Young
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