Police – Summer home security message

I always think that when daylight saving starts, it’s a sure sign we’ve made it through another winter. After three months of short, wet, cold days, I think we all deserve a lengthy and relaxing summer. It’s also about now that I deliver my annual sermon on home security. I do it every spring because there is no better time than now to strengthen your home’s defences against the unwanted attentions of those few rat-bags who think that your hard-earned dollars would be better in their wallets.

Now is the time to walk around the outside of your home and think critically about the simple ‘target-hardening’ you can do. Try to anticipate that criminal. Trim back those obscuring bushes, make sure your window security has survived the winter and consider CCTV as an addition to your property.

Technology in the household CCTV space has advanced rapidly and there are some very cost-effective systems available now. A great many of these have a ‘real-time’ feature alerting the home-owner, through their smart-phone, that someone is on their property. People with this kind of system can see instantly who is at their door allowing them to disregard the delivery driver or expected visitor and to contact the Police straight away when their visitor has mischief in mind.

The other thing people can do is always secure their vehicles when they get home. If you’re a tradie with a pile of valuable tools in the work wagon, it’s always best to pop that vehicle into the garage when you finish work for the day. It’s not just work cars with tools either. Keep all valuables out of cars parked outside houses overnight and you’ll minimise the chances of losing them.

I’m adding these thoughts to the end of the house security sermon because just lately we have had a spate of night-time theft from vehicles in the Warkworth area. Anyone seeing someone suspicious hanging around residential neighbourhoods in the evening and after dark should immediately contact the police and let us know.

The team at Warkworth Police Station would like nothing better than to catch whoever’s responsible for this little spike in theft from vehicles. If you see something out of place, give us a call. I think that our well-deserved summer will be so much better if we don’t have to worry about thieves helping themselves to our valuables.

Stay safe.