Local Priorities House burglary Message - Kent Police

Source: Kent Police via My Community Voice

Highlighted as an issue of concern on the recent priority survey, the response is:

As of recent there has been a rise in burglaries around the south east of England. These incidents tend to target Indian families that are suspected to have gold within their household. The most frequent method is once the families are out of their home for an outing, the offenders will smash the rear window, enter the property, take cash and jewellery before leaving in a nearby parked vehicle. Although KENT POLICE has a specialised department working on preventing these and bringing the offenders to justice, I would like to post the following safety advice to help prevent and catch offenders.

Keep doors and windows locked as much as possible.
Ensure your door frames are secured with correct length screws.
Additional locks and chains for doors.
a good quality house alarm that is connected to your phone.
a good quality CCTV that is connected to your phone
do not keep keys and valuable items in plain sight, this may assist the offenders decision to target your house or enter it.
promote friends and family to do the same and keep each other informed, look out for each other.
if an incident occurs, ring 999 as quick as possible, do not enter your property to prevent scene contamination, if safe to do so keep eyes on the offenders and give clear concise information to the 999 call handler.
If you notice someone acting suspicious, that you may never have seen before, maybe trying doors, looking in windows or hanging around on your street, report this via 999, 101 or the online portal.
I understand some of these points will cost money, however they may bring your home insurance down, prevent you from being targeted, there are also cheaper alternatives online.

Burglary is a particularly invasive crime that can have a lasting impact on victims. If you have been a victim and need support and help, you should have been offered the services of Victim Support. You may have declined at the time, or not noticed the offer, but can refer yourself at any time by either calling 0808 168 9111 or visiting their website www.victimsupport.org.uk.

Burglars do not want to get caught, so taking action to make your home or business premises safe and less attractive to thieves can go a long way to reducing the risk.

Not all advice, or security products recommended are the same, or necessarily fit for purpose.

If looking to take positive action to prevent yourself from being a victim of this type of crime, help and advice can be found on the Neighbourhood Watch website.

If you ever experience this issue or have information regarding an incident, please report it using our online reporting tools at https://www.kent.police.uk, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101.

Alternatively, you can stay 100 per cent anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.