An aggravated or armed burglary is one where the intruder comes armed, possibly with a firearm but more likely a knife or other weapon. In the UK possession of a firearm is a serious offence, and therefore may significantly increase the total sentence if aggravated burglary is committed with a firearm as opposed to any… Read more »
Tag: home security
Keeping Second Homes Safe
Those of us lucky enough to have a second home know it also comes with a secondary headache – the security of a property that is routinely left unoccupied. A second home offers many benefits – a ready-made holiday where you don’t have to book or pay for accommodation, the option of providing friends or… Read more »
The Outlaws – What You Can Learn
The excellent BBC series The Outlaws reached a nail-biting conclusion with an audacious raid on a large London home. The planning and execution of the raid was incredible and had us second guessing all the way through. As security experts we shouldn’t really be rooting for the burglars, but in this case they were actually… Read more »
Halloween Home Security
Halloween sees a spike in crime rates; online statistics vary between 17% in the UK, and 60% in the US, where the event is a much bigger celebration and often involves a lot of house parties that will contribute to these numbers. Even a rise of 17% is a worry, and much of this crime… Read more »
Home Sweet Home This October
October is Home Security Month, and time for a quick audit of your home security measures. Your first ports of call are the entry points to your property, and for most of us this means doors and windows. Windows should be lockable and kept closed as a matter of course. Upper floor windows can be… Read more »
Be Safe And Secure On Holiday
When you’re on holiday, the last thing you want to be worrying about is security. That’s why it is important to have your home and personal security arrangements sorted before you go away. We’ll start with the obvious: ensure all doors and windows are locked, and the keys kept somewhere that’s not visible from the… Read more »
Long Weekend Or Longer Holiday?
With the Easter holidays behind us and the longer nights ahead it’s time to think about spring and summer home security. You may know someone who went away with the kids for a few days over the school break and returned to find their home had been broken into – it’s often the first spike… Read more »
Safety And Security Lessons To Learn From Winter
We hope all our customers, existing and potential, weren’t plagued by a seasonal security issue this year but the changing seasons bring different risks to security, the environmental ones often being underestimated by property owners. We have seen dreadful flooding this year; flooding which has been almost non-stop between storms for some residents in this… Read more »
Home Security For Renters
More and more people are locked into renting for longer as house prices rise and the amount needed for a deposit gets further out of reach for lots of people. Home ownership isn’t a complete pipe dream, however, as parental shared mortgages and part ownership schemes can provide a help onto the first rung that… Read more »
Think WIDE
WIDE, or WIDEN is the Neighbourhood Watch mnemonic for home security and it stands for: Windows locked Indoor lights on a timer Doors locked or deadlocked Exterior lights on timers or motion detection Neighbours Most homes have uPVC double glazing now which is harder to break into than old-fashioned single glazing. Some may have sash… Read more »