As we approach another New Year, people will use this time to set-out their own personal goals for the year ahead. These ‘New Year Resolutions’ can include things such as stopping smoking, looking for a new job, losing weight and trying to manage their money better. Perhaps, there is one resolution we should all be trying to achieve and that’s making our home safer and less of a target to burglars and thieves.

We recently told our readers that home burglaries rose by 14% during the last recorded period, an alarming figure by any standards. Yet, there are still a minority of people that are still under the illusion that because “they live in a good area, their homes are safe from any intruders“. One sad fact, of today’s modern society, is that no ones home is safe from burglary. Which is why home security is paramount!

This year, when the bells toll midnight, and you’re making your New Year Resolution, have a thought about your own personal protection and the safety of your family and your possessions.

At Crime Prevention Products have a vast array of Wireless Burglar Alarms, Garage Alarms & Shed Alarms and CCTV Cameras that will capture video in high definition, enabling you to monitor your premises even when you’re out celebrating elsewhere the beginning of a New Year.

Earlier in the month, we wrote an article depicting what might be on a burglars top 10 wish list and the frequency in which homes are burgled in the UK. It may have surprised a few readers to find out that home burglaries have risen by 14% and that a UK home is burgled (or attempted) every 43 seconds.

Every homeowner has to be seriously aware that someone might be ‘casing’ their home for weaknesses in order to gain entry, especially around Christmas and New Year.

A recent article published in The Telegraph (source) explains how Police in Manchester issued a warning to local residents after they found a burglar’s ‘To-Do’ list.

The list detailed how, when and where to obtain certain ‘gifts’ such as one resident who kept the keys to their SAAB behind an open kitchen window. Other targets on the list included ‘money that was kept on a fireplace’ and where to find bicycles, laptops, cars, vans, TV’s and even wallets. Police believe that this thief had been busy ‘casing’ joints and must have been peering into people’s homes to obtain this information.

Home security is paramount all through the year, which is why we supply trusted home alarm systems, outdoor/indoor security lights, driveway alarms and so much more… All specifically designed to alert and protect your home from someone approaching and illegaly entering your property.

At Crime Prevention Products we wish everyone to have a safe and Happy Christmas and enjoy the gifts for whom they were intended – and not some sneak thief.

Its been a topic of conversation for some time now, with councils up-and-down the country implementing or discussing plans to recoup/save some money by dimming, removing or switching off street lighting from midnight until 5am. Of-course, it’s a controversial decision which has caused much debate.

Councils need to cut costs and they see streetlighting as an efficient way of cutting back. Kent County Council, for example, has 118,500 streetlights which costs them in the region of £5.1m yearly. By switching off an estimated 70,000 lights, during the twilight hours, will save the council around £765,000. You can see why it is an attractive proposition which most councils are eager to rubber stamp.

But what about the concerns, over crime and road accidents?

A number of automobile authorities have warned that reducing visibility at night by removing/dimming/switching off streetlights will greatly heighten the risk of road accidents in the areas affected.

But there is also another danger, when street illuminance decreases, and that’s the risk of personal attacks or sexual assaults rising. Especially over the festive period. Party revellers heading home alone, may feel vulnerable and open to attack.

If you’re heading out as the party season begins, here are a few safety considerations you should think about before you step-out…Try to plan your return route home, arrange for a taxi to pick you up if necessary, don’t overdo the alcohol, carry a personal attack alarm, know your surroundings and keep to well-lit streets (although that might prove to be easier-said-than-done in the months and years ahead).

It’s been a rough ride for shop owners during the last couple of years. Those that survived the recession then had to put-up with rising costs of goods and falling numbers at the checkout as customers found they had to budget more in a bid to beat the cost of living rising daily.

Small shops not only suffered but large stores and retailers hurt as well. You only need to take a short stroll up any high street to see the obvious fall-out of failed businesses boarded-up and shut for good.

On the back of this, a new report which has just been released, informs us that UK high street lost an estimated £4.9bn in the past 12 months to crime related acts such as shoplifting, fraud, organised retail crime and administrative errors. A rise of 6.9% from the previous year according to The Global Retail Theft Barometer (www.globalretailtheftbarometer.com).

Shoplifting accounted for 43.8 per cent of the estimated £4.9bn lost in the retail sector. It also highlighted that the average cost each shoplifter would steal was around £79. Shoplifters had a preferred taste for ‘branded merchandise that could be resold‘ easily and quickly. Most likely to feature on the shopping list of a shoplifter aside from branded clothes was cosmetics, diy products, video games and food with cheese being shoplifted three times more in the UK than the global average.

As you know, we at Crime Prevention Products like to think that taking preventative measures is the best way of tackling crime. Which is why we stock and sell CCTV Systems, Dummy Cameras and Counterfeit Detection products all very pro-active in helping to tackle shoplifting and fraud for all types of shop owners from the smallest to the largest found on our high streets today.

Our products are available for international shipping, furthermore clients can now pay in Euros or $US Dollars.

With parts of the UK undergoing an Indian Summer – temperatures have hit the high 20′s – weather forecasters have highlighted the current spell of warm weather is set to continue into the week. At CPP we want to pass on a message which the Police have issued regarding home security.

Burglaries through open or unlocked doors and windows can occur during hot spells and can often be prevented with a little extra vigilance.

• Make sure your doors and windows are secured when you are out, overnight or in another part of your property.
• If you are tidying up in your front garden, make sure your back door has not been left insecure – it only takes a moment for an opportunist thief to come in, take small valuables and leave un-noticed.
• Do not leave car keys, handbags, mobile phones etc in an easily accessible or visible locations, for example near an open window. This could tempt someone to reach in through the window and take your property.
• Lock your garden tools away and use a good quality padlock to secure garden sheds and outbuildings. Un-secured garden tools can be used to gain entry into your property.
• Make sure any suspicious activity is reported immediately to the Police on their local number, or in an emergency on 999 or call crimestoppers on 0800 555 11. Where possible try to obtain a description of the person(s) and the make, model, colour and registration number of any vehicle.

Please, let’s enjoy this unexpected warm weather without making it an Indian Summer to remember for burglars.

Teenagers like to think they’re ‘all grown up’! Then they shatter this perception by heading off out with their mates forgetting to inform parents or guardians where they’re going, only to return hours later, safely and oblivious to any concerns surrounding their whereabouts which might be voiced.

Being a parent or a guardian – we worry – it’s just natural. However, there is a lot to worry about these days, especially when you understand the hard fact that a proportion of youths will head out this summer with their mates, only never to return home. They’ll become the latest unnecessary victims of gang and knife violence!

Gang culture is not just confined to the big cities. Gangs can be present even in the smallest village in the quietest of areas. Postcode gangs is a rising trend amongst many youths. It has spread from its roots in inner-city London to many suburbs up and down the country.

In a report in the Guardian (source) it’s suggested that due to recent cuts to our youth services, Britain should brace itself for a summer of gang and knife violence.

In the last year our capital city has already seen knife crime rise by over 9% and youth violence increase by 4%. The report goes on to name Negus McLean who was only 15, he was chased by seven youths on bicycles before being stabbed and Yemurai Kanyangarara a 16 year old boy who died after being stabbed in the neck by two youths.

As parents and guardians we’re constantly anxious about our children’s safety. One way is to make them carry a personal alarm that will fit into their busy grown up lifestyle, ensuring that if they ever feel threatened at least they have an option to enable the alarm and give themselves the chance to escape from a potentially dangerous situation.

When someone commits a criminal act we would expect them to feel the full force of our judicial system, and in most cases we would hope that they would serve their time and learn from their ‘mistakes’. After all, doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance? However, over the last few years our judicial system has come in for criticism for costly mistakes that have been made! Mistakes such as letting dangerous criminals out on bail.

One such case was Jonathan Vass, this violent and dangerous man was let out on police bail only to stab his his ex-girlfriend Jane Clough to death in a hospital car park after she had just finished her shift in the A&E department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Of course it would be silly to assume that every person that is out on bail is a hardened criminal, however in a report published by the Ministry of Justice it stated that people (in England and Wales) who are freed on police bail are responsible for committing one offence every four minutes (source, opens in new window). This ‘crime wave’ equates to 142,537 crimes that are carried out by suspects already on bail.

In Merseyside, last year, police officers charged 26 people with murder, five of them allegedly committed the crime while out on bail for separate offences… These figures are not just isolated to Merseyside, they are mimicked throughout the country. The report estimates that around one murder every week is carried out by somebody who has been placed on bail for a separate offence.

At Crime Prevention Products we recognise the right people have to protect their homes as well as themselves and family! That’s why we supply a vast range of personal alarms and burglar alarms. These alarms will not only alert passers by that you need assistance but our home alarms will also help alert the proper authorities that someone has intruded into your home.

As the school year draws to an end, there will be thousands of children eagerly awaiting the last bell of term to ring – sadly, for some, this will not be to rejoice the start of the summer holidays but to escape the beating and intimidation they’ll have received on a daily basis while at school.

It’s been reported that as many as 12,688 school children are subjected to grievous or actual bodily harm during the year. This shocking figure equates to 65 serious assaults every day. The report which was published in the Daily Mail, (source, opens in new window) used data under the Freedom of Information laws. They found out that as well as criminal damage, harassment, theft, and sexual assault there was one under 14 year old child from Leicestershire who was convicted for carrying a gun whilst in school.

The report states violence in schools has been steadily rising since 2008 and is now believed to be at a record high. What’s more, the report states that this figure is probably a lot higher as many more pupils are subjected to bullying but are reluctant to tell anyone, and so it continues…

Dr. Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, claims that children are becoming violent before they even get to school. Dr. Sigman coins this generation of pre-school troublemakers as ‘The Spoilt Generation‘ and states that a lot of their misbehaviour is down to “the lack of boundaries and the reversal of authority” between parents and their children.

Such is the worrying trend of violence in our schools that the government released new guidance for teachers to help improve discipline in schools (source, opens in new window). The coalition government has tore up the former 600-page guidance – introduced by the Labour government – and replaced it with just 52 pages. Its aim is to put the power back with the adult teacher and is outlined as so…

• Schools should not have a ‘no touch’ policy. It is often necessary or desirable for a teacher to touch a child (e.g. dealing with accidents or teaching musical instruments).
• Teachers have a legal power to use reasonable force. They can use force to remove a pupil who is disrupting a lesson or to prevent a child leaving a classroom.
• Heads can search without consent for an extended list of items including alcohol, illegal drugs and stolen property.
• Heads have the power to discipline pupils who misbehave outside the schools premises and outside schools hours.
• Schools must have measures in place to deal with bullying both in and outside of school.

As parents we try to help our children as much as possible, however we all understand that we cannot be with them all the time. At Crime Prevention Products we have a vast array of personal alarms which will fit discreetly on their school bags or act as a key ring. Many of these alarms emit a powerful siren which will allow your child precious seconds to make their escape.

We hope they never have to use these alarms, however, prevention is better than the alternative.

This year, the people of the British Isles have been subjected to various ‘economic recovery’ measures which have been set out by the new coalition government, in-order to get our countries financial stability ‘back on track’. Some of these measures included VAT increased to 20%, budget spending cuts introduced to local councils, Child Trust Funds axed and funding to the Police in England and Wales slashed by 20% over five years.

As these spending measures begin to bite, residents in the UK have been hit hard by huge price increases to their basic commodities such as heating, food and fuel. Not only that, but with the slow growth in industry coupled with less money to spend, many businesses have been forced to close, or have had to make tough decisions regarding redundancies and wage freezes.

With the government now turning its attention to tackling the benefit system some residents who rely on welfare payments will now face a future of uncertainty and hardship.

The stark truth of it all is, if you read between the lines, there is a real concern that those already living in the poverty level could be forced further into “deep poverty” levels.

With people having less money, it has been reported that many places have seen an sharp increase in crimes such as burglaries and robberies.

Recent reports from the Metropolitan Police show that the number of robberies in London last month had risen by as much as 15% compared to May 2010. Not only robberies but house burglaries have seen a rise of 18.5% and thefts of vehicles have also risen (6%). These figures are not just isolated in our capital city, reports from the Government’s crime mapping website showed increases in burglary in six areas, while robberies rose in three.

When asked about the statistics Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson admitted he is ‘concerned’, he also went on to point out that Scotland Yard had seen ‘reductions in most categories of violent crime’ in the last financial year. However, when questioned further Sir Paul Stephenson revealed ‘What I am concerned about is the burglary‘.

Initiatives are underway to help tackle burglaries in local areas. Sheffield Police announced they’re visiting known burglars up to three times a night, in some instances, in a bid to prevent crooks re-offending. Police have also started contacting unsecured homes they come across such as those with windows left open and doors unlocked.

With the threat of opportunistic theft on the increase we advise that every resident properly protects their property.