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   Don't let burglars first foot your home this New Year's Eve
Police in Salford are warning residents to take extra care in securing their homes to prevent them falling victim to opportunistic burglars who target empty properties on New Year’s Eve. Burglars take advantage of people letting their guard down in the holiday season and victims can return home from partying in the small hours to find that they have been burgled. Residents can decrease their chances of falling prey to burglars by following simple advice that saves them having a traumatic new year. Make sure you shut and lock all external doors and windows and activate your burglar alarm. Use lights, radios and timer switches to make your house look occupied. It is also important to keep valuables out of sight from prying eyes and dispose of boxes that contained valuables by taking them to the tip. Leaving them outside your home is an advert to thieves of what might be inside. If you are going away over the holidays ask a trusted neighbour to open and draw curtains, park on your drive and keep an eye on your home. Registering your valuables on-line through the national www.immobilise.com database is free and makes your possessions less attractive to thieves. The database is available to all UK police forces who use it to return lost and stolen possessions to their rightful owners. Almost any item with a serial number recovered by police can be returned to the owner if registered on the database. Users can also add photographs and certificates of ownership to their Immobilise account. Once registered users can update their account with details of new possessions, and take off items they no longer own. Crime Reduction Advisor, Glyn Wood, said: “Burglars expect people to be more relaxed and less cautious during the holiday season and take advantage of homes being unoccupied as people see in the New Year with friends and family. “Residents can play their part by following the advice given to make sure they do not play host to any unwelcome visitors at this time of year.” You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information. Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.
To report crime call police on 0161 872 5050 or for more information click here Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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