These last few months we’ve being writing blog posts to inform our readers about the increasing trend in home, farm and shop/office burglaries. More worryingly, however, is that over the last quarter there has been a 10% rise in the amount of robberies using a knife.(source). These knifepoint muggings include theft of mobiles (smart phones in particular), iPods, handbags which may include home and car keys, wallets and cash.

In total, there were just over 15,000 knifepoint muggings and robberies – some so vicious that victims were murdeered for their personal possessions – with over half of these reported muggings taking place in London.

We understand that it is difficult to control knife crime on the streets. Cuts in the policing infrastructure won’t help either. However, what we can do is offer some form of help to help keep you safe if you are ever confronted with a knifepoint mugging.

In general, the best advice is to hand over your phone or any other personal belongings such as credit cards etc.. Mobile phones can be replaced, bank cards can be cancelled. It’s most likely that the mugger will be highly agitated and if they have a weapon such as a knife on themselves they may be intent on physical harm.

Try to remain calm and non-confrontational. Carry a personal alarm as this can be activated and give you valuable seconds to make your escape if the situation worsens and you feel you are likely to be attacked. Once the ordeal is over, report the crime to the nearest police station, don’t bottle things up, it’s understandable that people get extremely emotional after being confronted with a knife crime. However, if you report it to the police, your actions might stop the same ordeal happening to some other individual.

As we near the end of the month, a lot of employees will be receiving their last wage packet before Christmas is upon them. This is the best opportunity to purchase those much-wanted xmas pressies. However, as we at Crime Prevention Products are constantly warning people, there are those amongst us who will gladly help themselves to your hard earned cash by snatching your purse or wallet!

Christmas shopping is a stressful enough time without having to endure the upsetting experience of finding yourself robbed or pickpocketed. To ensure that no one simply walks away with your money, we’d like to take this opportunity to publish a few tips to help protect your cash…

• When taking money out of any bank ‘ATM’, make sure that no one can invade your space and ‘sneak a peek’ at your PIN number.
• Once your cash is dispensed, place it somewhere safe before you walk away from the bank.
• Never place you cash or wallet in your back pocket – pickpockets love this and will see you as an easy target.
• Never take your cash out and count it in public, this will advertise to everyone that you have money.
• When out shopping in busy stores and market places always ensure that your bag is kept securely closed.

One good tip is, if you happen to be carrying a lot of money, then try and separate your money into different pockets, purses and wallets! That way, if any pickpocket happens to get their hands on your money, they’ll not have stolen your full amount and you’ll still have some to continue shopping.

As we approach the end of October, children up and down the country will be adorning some strange and wonderful costumes in an attempt to frighten family members and neighbours. On Halloween night, thousands of costumed kids will head out to fill their Halloween Bag full of ‘sweets, toffee apples, tablet and other treats‘.

Even though many neighbours love this time of year and warmly welcome the ‘antics of children’ as they chap doors in the neighbourhood and shout ‘trick or treat‘ there are still a few precautions that are best followed in order to make it a properly safe halloween night.

Here at Crime Prevention Products we know that everyone loves this time of year, however we also understand that there are many dangers lurking in every city, town or village, just waiting to take advantage on any unprepared ‘Ghosts and Ghouls‘.

So, whilst you are out and about, it’s best to remember :

• Never leave your own neighbourhood unless you’re with an adult or a responsible person.
• Always stay on the pavements and make sure streets which you visit are well lit.
• Never enter a strangers house.
• Never just run across a main road, always look left, right and left again.
• If you’re crossing a busy road always remove your face mask. Face masks can restrict your view and you might not see that oncoming vehicle.

By NOT following these simple but effective Halloween Safety Rules you may lose more than your sweets, treats and toffee apples. Stay safe!

In just a couple of months time many directors, managers and employees will be heading out to either their local bar, restaurant or club in order to celebrate their companies annual Christmas party. This is one of the few occasions where managers and employees can forget all about the pressures of everyday work thus allowing them to let their hair down and relax. This is also a time when many employees see this as the perfect opportunity to treat themselves and spend their hard earned cash on a new xmas outfit.

Alongside those new togs there is one accessory that always turns heads and that’s a new designer handbag (which may have cost a small fortune). Although it’s not just those with a keen fashion sense who will have noticed your new bag – opportunistic thieves may also show their appreciation and will be keen to see it close-up as well as the contents of you’re handbag.

No one likes to place their new (or old) handbag on a wet, dirty floor where it may be accidentally kicked under a table and even out of sight. That’s why we at Crime Prevention Products can supply you with the perfect handbag accessory the Handbag Keep-Safe Hook With Compact Mirror… This simple device will keep any handbag well out the way of dirty floors and more importantly in easy sight of its owner.

With the average contents of a handbag totalling around £350 – never mind the purchase price of the bag itself – it’s worth making sure you keep your handbag safe whilst looking good at the same time.

In recent months there have been numerous stories in our media regarding the rising trend in people being stalked. Ranging from famous footballers to gay communities it has to one of the most frightening experiences for a person to endure that someone is stalking you! Stalking just doesn’t happen in the real world either as Cyber Stalking is a growing concern and brings its own challenges for the authorities to stamp-out.

Facts Regarding Stalking in the UK:

• Over 1.2 million women and 900,000 men are stalked every year according to The British Crime Survey 2004.
• 8% of women and 6% of men are stalked every year.
• 19% of women and 12% of men have experienced stalking or harassment at some point in their lives.

(source)

In a recent study carried out by Napo (the probation officers union) found that victims of stalking were being failed by our legal system. The study which is the first of it’s kind shows that sentences handed down to stalkers have been far to lenient. In fact last year in Britain there were 120,000 cases of stalking in which 53,000 were reported as a crime, however only 2% of the offenders were given a custodial sentence and a further 10% had to do community service or handed a fine. (source)

Crime Prevention Products understand that everyone deserves the right to their freedom whether it’s walking to the shops or enjoying yourself on a night out. That’s why we supply a host of personal security devices such as Defence Sprays which can cover your attacker in a bright red UV dye not only giving you time to react and escape but also help the authorities identify the culprit even days later as the dye is very, very stubborn to remove.