21/10/2026
Bit of a long one - advice from the Community Police on protecting your home from thieves.
Ways to prevent a break-in
Use alarms, CCTV, and security lights
There are many alarms, CCTV, and security lights at different prices, so you can choose the best one for your budget.
Your insurance might be cheaper if you get alarms, CCTV, and security lights.
When buying alarms and CCTV, make sure:
• it meets British Standards (PD6662)
• the person or company setting it up has National Security Inspectorate (NSI) or Security System and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) certifications
Alarms
When choosing an alarm, you can choose between:
• monitored: the alarm company tells you the alarm triggered before calling the police
• unmonitored: the alarm triggers but no-one is automatically told (you or a neighbour will have to see what happened and call the police)
• auto-dialler: you’ll get a text or phone call if your alarm is triggered
You can also get:
• magnetic sensors that trigger an alarm if a door or window is opened
• glass break (vibration) sensors that trigger an alarm if your windows or any glass in your doors is broken
• get motion sensors (PIR sensors) near your windows and doors, these can come with or without a CCTV camera
CCTV
When choosing CCTV, you could get:
• a camera that films in high quality (for example, 4K)
• a camera that records 12 to 25 frames per second in original, uncompressed format
• cameras inside your house as well as outside
When using CCTV, you should:
• put the camera 3 metres above the ground (it’s more likely to record faces and stops thieves from breaking the camera)
• put the camera somewhere where nothing blocks its view
• cut or move any plants that block the CCTV view
• put the camera where it can film all the ways into your house (such as doors, garages, driveways, windows)
• make sure your camera does not film areas that are not your property, or you blur areas that are not your property
• put signs up that say you use CCTV
Lights
When choosing security lights, you can:
• get dusk-to-dawn or timer-activated lights (they turn on automatically when it’s dark and stay on until it’s light)
• use LED bulbs (they’re brighter and last longer than sodium bulbs)
• have a light near ways into your property and home (including any gardens, driveways, garages, and doors)
• put the lights 3 metres above the ground (to stop thieves from breaking them)
Secure your windows and doors
To secure your windows and doors, you should:
• shut and lock your doors and windows at night, when you’re not at home, and when you’re not using them (including patio and garage doors)
• never leave keys in locks
• regularly check the frames, locks, and hinges are not broken
• repair them as soon as you can if they’re broken (or tell your landlord or factor)
• If you’re buying new windows and doors, you should:
• buy ones certified by Secure by Design
• look for “PAS24” doors and windows because they’re harder to break
• make sure any glass is laminated
Windows
To make your windows more secure, you can:
add safety film or get a specialist to apply it (it makes it harder to break and makes more noise if broken)
use ventilation locks, restrictors, or sash stops on open windows to stop someone opening them wide enough to climb through
Doors
To make sure your doors are secure, you should:
• never leave the door on the latch or held open
• avoid letting people inside a shared door if you do not know them
• make sure people do not follow you inside before the door shuts (this is called “tailgating”)
• if someone tries to follow you inside you can challenge them (if you feel safe to)
• not let in contractors unless you confirm their identity and reason for entry
• think about keeping a personal alarm near your door that you can trigger if you feel worried about someone at your door
• never share codes for locks or alarms with delivery people
• never leave keys in easy to find places for contractors
To make your doors more secure, you can:
• hang a cup on your inside door handle so it will fall and smash if someone tries to open the door
• get a door handle alarm on the inside of your door that will trigger if someone tries to open the door
• use door chains, restrictors, peepholes, or a camera doorbell to see who’s at your door without opening it fully
• use a security bar or a “patlock” on closed double doors to make it harder to break open
• add drop bolts to your doors to make them harder to break open
• change your locks to a “euro-cylinder barrel TS 007 3-star lock” or Sold Secure “Diamond Standard” lock (they’re harder to break)
• change your door hardware such as the handle and escutcheons to ones that meet the Domestic Buildings Gold standard (they’re harder to break)
• fit a letter box guard to stop someone reaching in to try and open the door
• add an anti-lift device onto any patio doors to stop someone removing them to break in
Keep valuables safe
Thieves are less likely to break into your garden or house if they cannot see anything worth stealing or if they think valuables are hard to get to.
To help keep any valuables safe, you can:
• keep them out of sigh
• keep any keys away from the doors leading outside, windows, and letterboxes
• consider getting a key safe that meets the Sold Secure gold standard (and keep it out of sight)
• keep contactless car keys or key fobs in a faraday pouch
• keep house keys and car keys on different keyrings
• avoid putting your address on your keys
• avoid telling other people what valuables you have
• avoid posting photos of your valuables on social media
• join your local Neighbourhood Watch and sign up for alerts
• after buying large expensive items break the boxes before putting them by your bin or take them to a recycling centre
Before leaving your house
Before you leave your house, you should:
• make sure all your doors and windows work
• shut and lock your doors and windows
• take the keys out of your locks and put them somewhere out of sight
• set any alarms you have
• lock valuables away or hide them out of sight
If you’re leaving home for a few days
Thieves are less likely to break in if they do not know the house is empty. To help it look like you’re still at home, you can:
• make sure any camera doorbells are charged and has enough storage to record while you’re away
• use any timers on your lights to turn them on and off
• cancel any deliveries due while you’re away (for example, milk deliveries)
• use Royal Mail’s Keepsafe service to stop your post going to your house
• mow the lawn before you leave
• avoid posting about the holiday or being away on social media
If you have someone you trust, you can also ask them to:
• check your house and garden
• open and close your curtains and turn lights on and off
• move your post out of sight
• put your bins out and put them back
• mow your lawn
