Police officers and Police Community Support Officers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be out and about in neighbourhoods over the festive period, delivering a special Christmas message to homes that look tempting to burglars.
If officers spot a home in darkness or with presents on view, they will leave a helpful Christmas card of their own, which gives tips on how to protect homes and property from burglary.
More than seventy burglaries were recorded in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight between December 22 and December 27 in 2009, with one even occurring on Christmas Day.
Detective Superintendent Peter Shand said: "We produce leaflets and posters and give crime prevention advice all year round, but this card has the additional shock factor that it is targeted and personalised to a specific home and lands on doormats in a bright orange envelope. It also proves that officers have been out and about in your neighbourhood, which is something that people tell us they want to see more often.
"We hope the cards will make people stop and think about what they can do to protect their family from the misery and inconvenience that being burgled causes."
Festive crime prevention tips include:
Don’t let darkness draw attention to your home. If you go out after dark, draw the downstairs curtains and leave some lights on. If you go out in daylight and won’t come home until it is dark, use timer switches in some rooms to turn on lights while you are out.
Don’t leave tempting presents out for all to see. Try to resist putting your presents under the tree until Christmas morning. Keep valuables like games consoles and laptops tucked away out of sight when not being used.
Lock up when you pop out. Make sure doors and windows are secure when you leave your home, even if only for a short time. Also check your shed and garage are secure.
Box clever! Leaving the boxes from your Christmas presents next to your bin tells criminals what lovely new valuables you have in your home. Take large boxes to refuse sights or break them down and put them inside the bin.
Mark it up. Register new gifts like mobile phones and other valuables on immobilise.com – this will help police return your valuables to you if you are unlucky enough to have them stolen and they are recovered.
Happy holidays. If you’re going away, try and make your home look occupied by using timer switches. Cancel milk and newspaper deliveries and ask a neighbour to collect your post, draw your curtains and make your home look lived in while you are away.
Hampshire Constabulary has produced a test amount of 11,000 cards which have been given to Safer Neighbourhoods teams across the force, and residents who receive them are being invited to submit feedback through the force’s Your Voice Counts system on the force website.
If successful, a more generic version of the card could be produced and rolled out for year round use.
For more crime prevention tips, and to find your local Safer Neighbourhoods team and their latest news, visit www.hampshire.police.uk
