Don’t tempt criminals to target you

A house, cottage or apartment left empty while homeowners are away – even just for the weekend – is a tempting target for criminals. That is why it is imperative to take certain steps to ensure your home is safe every time you go on leave.

To help you cope with power surges, broken pipes, home invasions and much more during your period of absence, take these basic preventative measures, provided by Louis Grobler from Apcan Security:

– A simple – yet crucial – way to have peace of mind when away is to ask a friend, family member or neighbour to keep an eye on your house. Ask your neighbour to drive past your house once a day to check if everything is in place. Make sure this person has a key in order to collect the mail, feed your pets and water your plants. Make sure you can be contacted in case of an emergency by giving all your contact information, as well as a copy of your itinerary to the person watching your home.

– Social media – such as Facebook and Twitter – rule our everyday lives. Before posting your holiday plans on these sites, stop, think and ask yourself, “Who exactly is reading this stuff?”. The anonymity of the internet may encourage us to share a lot of personal information without realising that hundreds of complete strangers may read our musings. You would not announce your plans to leave your house unattended for two weeks to a crowd of strangers, so why post it on the internet? This does not only apply to the internet – be careful what you say on your answering machine or voicemail. Callers only need to know you cannot attend to the phone at that moment – they do not need to know you are not home.

– The most important question when going away is, “Should the curtains be left open, or closed?”. If you decide to leave your blinds or curtains closed to prevent anyone from peering in at your windows to see if you are home, you should remember that this could also stop those who want to help – police, neighbours or friends – from seeing inside. The golden rule is, leave your curtains or blinds exactly the way they are when you are at home. Noticeable changes could hint that you are not at home – especially if blinds or curtains are left closed for extended periods. Some good advice to follow – even when at home – is to put all expensive items like jewellery or laptops out of sight if they’re normally visible through the window.

– Do not leave your lights on for the duration of your absence in an effort to create the illusion of someone being at home. It will not only cause your electricity bill to soar – it is not exactly clever behaviour where there is no blind or curtain cover. Lights blazing throughout the day and night might look odd and invite some unwanted attention. Except for designated outdoor lights, you should invest in a light-switch timer to turn your house lights on and off according to a programmed schedule.

The last tip is not necessarily a security tip but is related, as you will have strange feet and a labour force in your home should a disaster – like a burst pipe or blown geyser – occur. If you are going away for an extended period of time, ensure your geyser is switched off and the feeder tap to the geyser (if fitted, otherwise the main water supply tap) is closed.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

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