Do

• Remember to keep windows locked. Remove the keys and keep them out of sight in a safe place.
• Keep your doors locked even when you are at home.
• Keep your purse/keys, including car keys, out of sight.
• Use thorny plants and bushes to deter access at vulnerable positions.
• Ensure your property looks occupied when you are out.
• Lock away ladders, garden tools, spades and forks that otherwise might be used by burglars.
• Property mark your possessions.
• Ask a friend or neighbour to look after your home if you are going away and cancel any milk, newspapers or regular house deliveries.
• Trim back any plants or hedges that a burglar could hide behind.

Do Not

• Keep large amounts of cash in the home.
• Attach your house key to a piece of string through the letterbox or leave keys in the lock (on the inside of the door) especially if you have a catflap.
• Leave your back door open when you are out in the garden.
• Position your dustbins or wheely bins near gates or fences where they can be used to climb over.
• Leave car keys on hall tables or stairs and thereby accessible to burglars through the letterbox with a hook or magnet device.
• Leave a spare key in a convenient hiding place such as under the doormat or in a flower pot.
• Leave boxes from replacement electrical items outside for refuse collection. Either break them up and hide them in your bin or take them to a rubbish tip.
• Do not use barbed or razor wire or broken glass on the top of garden walls or fences. You can be held legally responsible for any injuries caused and there are safer alternatives.
• Leave unlocked a garage, shed or outbuilding that might contain expensive tools or tools that are ideal for breaking into the rest of the house.
• Leave your curtains closed during the daytime.