Reaching the end of October, nationally known as Home Security Month (NHSM) and this year, we’re focusing on preventative measures to ensure your home remains safe and secure all year round.
So many aspects of commercial property security are now introduced to your home security, which we embrace and recommend. Whether it’s your home, a holiday property or out-house, it is likely that this is the place where you store your most important possessions and above that, it is where yourself and family call home and consider a safe space.
Therefore, it is important to ensure you have measures in place to protect all of the above.
NHSM and Yale have been sharing tips on various security topics; this includes staying vigilant during darker evenings, tips on looking after your home and particularly, your first home, choosing a CCTV system and front door security.
Team Police UK have also posted some guidance, again looking at commercial property security, but look how many items can be used in your home
1 – AVOID – it gives the wrong message and attacks negative attention
2 – LOOK FOR spaces people can hide in and illuminate / monitor
3 – CHECK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT LOCKS
4 – SHOW you have an alarm
5 – USE CCTV – have obvious looking cameras as a deterrent
6 – BIN AREA -should remain tidy and away from the side of your building, therefore avoiding arson and swift spread of fire up a wall
7 – ILLUMINATE
These are all topics we speak about regularly but it’s important to remind ourselves of the possible threats to our property if we do not stay alert.
Today’s measures include:
- Property Alarms & monitoring
- CCTV Systems & monitoring
- Communal Door Systems & access control & locks
Advice for landlords/owners
If you are renting out your property or second home/holiday home, it is even more important to ensure effective security measures are in place.
Whether it’s a single unit or an entire building/shared accommodation, multi-purpose property alarms can detect not only intrusion but also fire and flooding. It is in your best interest to not only maintain the property but to ensure your residents are safe, so it goes without saying, you should consider the best possible alarm system for your building to ensure intrusion is kept to a minimum and in the event of an accident, you are alerted as soon as possible, and damage/disruption is kept to a minimum.
CCTV systems are important for very similar reasons, but they also act as a deterrent and therefore are a very efficient preventative measure. Intruders are less likely to attempt a break-in to a property secured with CCTV monitoring in place, but even if they do, the system can be monitored in real-time by yourself or for a 24/7 approach, by a dedicated ARC (Alarm Response Centre). This ensures the property is resecured in a timely manner and intruders can be identified.
Communal door systems ensure that entry to the building is limited to those with authorised access. These can be operated by key, fob or code entry system and stops an intruder at the first point of entry, again acting as a preventative measure.
Advices for tenants
As a tenant, your interest is in protecting yourself, your family and your possessions and the above measures also apply to your situation as the resident of the property. As an owner or renting tenant, you should ask factors/landlords about the options available if you feel your property is not as secure as it could be. If you own a standalone property, not within shared accommodation, you should look to install the relevant measures for your property and also consider external lighting for garden areas/outhouses.
While monitoring and detection of intrusion/damage is certainly an incredibly important factor, preventative measures can stop it from getting to that stage for domestic properties. Consider which measures make the most sense for your property and act now to avoid disruption, loss of possessions and potential damage to your home.