Greater Manchester Police have issued the residents of Greater Manchester and Salford with advice on how best to avoid being a target of burglary at Christmas.
The initiative, named ‘Alarms, locks and lights’, aims to encourage residents to be more careful and aware when leaving their houses unattended over the upcoming Christmas period, stressing the use of light timers and alarm systems as a preventative measure.
Superintendent Marcus Noden of GMP Salford said: “The presence of light timers or up to date alarm systems are clearly useful in making a property more secure but clearly they won’t necessarily prevent a home from being targeted, especially if they’re not used properly or at all. There are many, relatively simple things that people can do in order to make their homes more secure, with the most simple and ‘free’ thing being to make sure that doors and windows are shut & locked. This may seem obvious but there continues to be a high proportion of domestic burglaries committed via insecure doors and windows.”
The clocks go back this weekend. As the nights start to get darker, remember to keep windows and doors locked and set your alarm if you’re not in the house #alarmlockslights pic.twitter.com/PpZGmIdeZz
— G M Police (@gmpolice) October 24, 2018
Superintendent Noden went on to say how prevention of burglary is not just for individuals though, and that communities should look out for one an other to prevent crime.
“I would encourage people to work together within their communities, along their street or within their block. Neighbourhood Watch schemes are fantastic but you don’t to have an established group in place to simply look out for each, in a neighbourly way.”
These precautions aren’t just for Christmas however, with burglary being a risk all year round.
“This is a precaution that should be taken at all times of year. Burglars are opportunists. If they see an insecurity and therefore an ‘easy loot’, they will take it.
The vast, vast majority of burglars will want to avoid confrontation whilst committing their crimes, so anything that makes their job easier and avoid detection, such as an open door or window, will be accepted.
“Just think about it if you’re sat in your living room with the TV on or if you’re listening to music or gaming with your headphones in, can you really be sure that you’d be aware of someone entering your property quietly, through an insecurity?
“Likewise when you are sleeping… So rather than risk becoming a victim of crime, follow the advice that is available to everyone, obtain extra security devices (& use them) if you can, but if you can’t, then simply follow the basic rules of home security and you’ll in a better position as a result.”
There have been 107 burglaries so far this year in Langworthy alone . The below crime map shows the burglaries committed within a 1 mile radius of Langowrthy in December last year.
Although there is no evidence to suggest there is a specific target in Salford, the elderly are often highlighted as potential victims of burglary.
Superintendent Noden works in the Salford district and he told us that: “There’s nothing to suggest that elderly people in Salford are more vulnerable to being burgled at this time of year compared to any other, but sadly elderly people are often targeted due to their frailties, so it’s important that family, friends and neighbours of elderly individuals do their very best to provide help and support. Home security advice is pretty generic, so caters for everyone however ‘door step crime’ involving ‘bogus callers’ is a crime that is often focused on the elderly and we offer specific advice in relation to this.”
The following advice is available on the GMP website.
GMP’s YouTube channel also contains a number of useful links to 1 minute videos, showing how to keep yourself and your property safe from crime.
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