From a police perspective: Vehicle Security

This month, Sgt David Lonsdale talks to us about security measures we can take to protect us from becoming victims of theft.

We need to think about security throughout the year to prevent ourselves from becoming victims of crime. Below are some simple security measures that can be taken to help protect you and your vehicles:

• Keep your car keys safe and out of sight, don’t leave them near an open window and if you are at work, ensure that you keep your keys with you at all times (don’t leave them in your vehicle).

• Never hang them near to doors where they could be taken through a letterbox.

• Never leave house or car keys in an obvious place like a handbag or key cupboard.

• If you’ve got a garage, use it and lock it!

• Always keep all the windows closed and the vehicle locked at all times – even if you intend going back to it, for example to remove shopping bags or to collect/remove equipment, as it only takes a criminal seconds to open a door and steal something on display!

• Over the next few winter months, don’t leave your car engine running to assist in defrosting your car without being there as you run the risk of having your car stolen.

• If your car/van doesn’t have an alarm/immobiliser then consider getting one fitted.

• There is a growing trend for work vans to be targeted, so keep valuable tools in your home if you are self-employed or at your workplace. No tools means no work and a big bill to replace them. Security mark all your tools and equipment to make items uniquely identifiable and less attractive to a thief. You can also register them on www.immobilise.com so that if they were ever stolen and then recovered at a later date they can easily be traced back to their owner.

If you have any concerns or want to report a suspicious vehicle then contact us by calling the non-emergency number 101 or 999 in an emergency, or if a crime is occurring.