Festive Safety with SBD: Christmas Gifts

We share advice on keeping your belongings safe this festive period.

• Don’t leave presents and valuables on view in front of a window.
  
  
• If you need to store Christmas food and drink, presents and other goodies within garages and outbuildings, ensure what you are storing is out of sight and that the building is securely locked with good quality, well-fitted locks. Think about installing a shed alarm.
  
  
• Remember to install/activate tracking and security apps on relevant electrical and computer products.
  
  
• Mark your products using a police-recognised property marking product.
  • Property marking is a simple and effective way to protect valuables, making them far less attractive to thieves by both reducing the potential to sell them on and dissuading an offender from its theft by realising that the item can be easily linked to the scene of a crime.
  • It also makes it easier for the police to trace the rightful owner of possessions.
  • Police Preferred property marking schemes must also include a register or a manufacturers’ database.
  • You can find a list of companies who supply police-preferred property and asset registration for various products here.
    
    
• After Christmas, don’t advertise your new items to thieves by putting the empty boxes out for collection - disguise them, fold them up inside out or put them inside another non-descript box.
  
  
• Watch what you put on social media - check your privacy settings to ensure that you are not broadcasting details of your new items beyond your friend group.