Inside

– Install a burglar alarm. Make sure it’s fitted by an approved company and includes an annual maintenance contract. Also, don’t forget to put it on every time you leave the house. NB: This security feature could reduce your insurance premium.

– Fit quality security gates. Stops burglars moving freely throughout your home. NB: This security feature could reduce your household insurance premium.

– Check your door locks. Fortify your home with quality door locks – especially those bearing kite mark BS3621 which meet rigorous security standards.

– Fit window locks. Several ready-made devices make prying open a window or removing a sliding glass door from its track more difficult.

– Invest in a safe. Thieves know all the best hiding spots – under the bed, in a coffee tin, behind a bookcase… Rather stash passports, jewellery and other valuables in a heavy-duty combination safe bolted to the floor or wall.

– Keep a dummy jewellery box. Keep cheap costume jewellery in a box visible on your dresser and lock the good stuff away in the safe. Thieves are often fooled by the dummy box and will stop looking for your expensive jewellery
Outside

– Put an electric fence around your house – Nothing says “Stay out!” quite like a 220V electrified fence.NB: This security feature could reduce your home insurance premium.

– Install automatic gates. You are extremely vulnerable when you get out of your car at night to open or close your gates. Plus, thieves can just use a bolt-cutter to get through the lock securing your manual gates. Go automatic.

– Make sure there’s nowhere to hide. Chop back shrubs and illuminate your garden with motion detecting lights that startle intruders.

– Censor your rubbish. If you’ve just bought a new flat screen TV, the box it came in paints a giant “Rob me!” sign on your house. Cut the cardboard up, tie the pieces together and only put it in the bin the day your rubbish is collected.

– Clean up your garden. Tools and ladders lying in your garden just make it easier for burglars to get into your house.

– Plant cacti or thorny shrubs around your perimeter.

– Join or set up a neighborhood watch. A great way to meet new people – and make a visible impact on crime.

Follow safety tips to keep your home safe – and make sure that crime doesn’t pay.

Make sure you have proper home contents insurance. It won’t wind back the clock if you do suffer a break in, but it will at least allow you to replace your lost property.

*Courtesy SAPS Crime Report”