Your Home Security
Crime Prevention - Your Home
Many burglaries are opportunist crimes. A burglar only needs to spot an open window or an unlocked door or gate to make their move.
Look at your home or business through the burglar's eyes. If you think your security looks poor, chances are so will a thief.
The good news is that it doesn't take much to improve security and put off thieves. Money spent on realistic security is a good investment; it will last a long time, can add value to your property, it can benefit your insurance cover and most of all give peace of mind that being a crime victim is not inevitable.
Secured by Design originally looked at new build and large scale refurbishment, achieving significant reductions in crime. This section brings the essence of SBD security to home owners and businesses. Where relevant we have linked sections to further information or to lists of companies that can supply a particular type of product meeting the standards.
Effective Security
Faced with a wide range of products it is often difficult to know how effective they are. It is true to say that given time, sophisticated power tools or inside information security may eventually be beaten. Good prevention denies the use of normally available tools, increases the risk for the thief perhaps by increasing the noise, effort and time to steal, or reduces the value to the thief.
To assist you make choices Secured by Design has identified a range of test standards that indicate products which are more likely to resist common forms of attack and therefore give better protection.
Our home page takes you to information on the standards and details of many of the companies that make products meeting these standards and who support this project.
Please note that Secured by Design does not guarantee the products, but offers a route to understanding and benefiting from the technical standards that indicate reasonable resilience to attack.
Many homes have been built to incorporate the Secured by Design specifications but unfortunately many builders of new homes do not incorporate effective security to our minimum standards. If you are buying a new home ask about the security, does it meet our standards, is it Secured by Design? See our home page for the full requirements for new homes.
More advice on preventing crime
Your local police crime prevention officer will also be able to give you
helpful advice on preventing crime.
Contact your local police station or find your local architectural liaison officer on our web site and ask for your local CPO contact. In some forces both do the same job.
Purchase 'Home Security - the Complete Handbook'
Co-written by ACPO CPI Development Officer, Calvin Beckford this book provides easy-to-understand information and advice on making your home more secure.