SBD News

The VEKA UK Group is committed to supplying some the most innovative and technically-advanced products on the market and is proud to have been awarded the ‘Secured by Design’ accreditation right across its VEKA and Halo product ranges, in addition to already holding the accreditation on its Bowater Doors range.

Head of Technical Mark Barsby explains: “Both VEKA and Halo have always been committed to designing products that offer an extremely high level of security for homeowners and commercial customers alike. We are proud to have demonstrated all our systems to meet the requirements of the strict Secured by Design criteria and, as such, we now have full SBD membership.

Twelve London postcodes have been included in a list of the top 20 burglary hotspots in the UK.

According to insurance claim figures, people living in the M21 postcode area of Manchester are most likely to have been victims of burglary, with 45.2 claims per thousand people.

Nigel Broderick came up with the idea for the DaylightSecure garden shed after somebody broke into his wooden shed and stole his bicycle. It is the first garden shed to be awarded the Secured by Design certification since the scheme started.

“Things should be just as safe outside your home as inside,” says Nigel, “and I wanted to come up with a sustainable solution.”

A battery-operated light switch timer which was launched at The Gadget Show Live recently, is the first of its type to be awarded the police-preferred Secured by Design accreditation.

With four out of five domestic burglaries taking place when no-one is at home, the advice by police and security experts is to use an automatic light timer when the property is empty and in darkness – recommending in particular the Light Switch Timer product, designed and manufactured by Essex-based company Switched On Products.

Streetpods; the only public realm “Secured by Design” approved bike parking system is yet again helping to reduce bike crime!

Using only the most robust materials, the Streetpod is made in the UK from 100% recycled /recyclable high quality materials, and available in a range of colours /finishes to suit different environments. An individual track for each bike ensures bike protection and prevents bike over-crowding.

Videx Security manufacturers of door entry and access control products in the UK has now received Secured by Design (SBD) accreditation on a range of door entry and access control products suitable for private, commercial and local authority properties.

Flagship UK Police initiative Secured by Design has today [03/12/ 2013] launched New Schools 2014 to aid those developers, architects and planners of schools and educational facilities. The guide sits alongside Secured by Design’s other guidance documents including New Homes and aims to promote best practice solutions to ‘design out crime’ in schools.

UK homeowners are urged to lock up their valuables and beware of burglars in the ‘most burgled’ month of the year, according to analysis from over 50s insurance provider RIAS. Data across claims from the specialist provider’s 500,000 home insurance customers reveals:

November 2012 saw an average 10% increase in burglary frequency last year, with the first week in December seeing a huge rise of 25%

THE first homes in what used to be Guildford Street will welcome their new families this week. The £6.5-million transformation of the newly-named Orchard Drive was capped by the awarding of Secured By Design accreditation from Humberside Police. It closes the door on an era when residents there suffered 500 crimes each year. Housing firm Longhurst and Havelok received a certificate from the deputy police and crime commissioner for Humberside, Paul Robinson, to mark the completion of the first 35 homes in phase one of the area’s regeneration.

Academics have published an open letter in the Times (23rd October 2013) warning that the DCLG’s review housing standards risks creating a new generation of crime hotspots across the country.

Flagship UK police initiative Secured by Design has welcomed the announcement of the latest crime figures for England and Wales, which showed a significant fall (9%) in overall crime, and a 7% fall in burglary.

Secured by Design’s response to points made in ‘Fortress Britain: high security, insecurity and the challenge of preventing harm’ by Anna Minton and Jody Aked