One of the hardest jobs that any of us will ever encounter in our lives is being a parent. From a childs very early age we try to explain the difference between right and wrong. If they happen to do something inappropriate we explain why, and the possible consequences of their actions. As our children grow and mature we expect then to realise for themselves what is right and what is wrong – but do they?

A recent published report declared that schools in Swindon have seen a horrific increase in crime. Worringly, the report states that reported crime in Swindon schools has risen by around 400% in the last four years. The report, which was obtained by the ‘Swindon Advertiser‘ through a Freedom of Information request, states that in 2010 the local Police had to respond to 149 crimes, compared with just 30 in 2007. Theft, violence and sexual offences were just a few of the crimes outlined in the report (source – opens in new window).

This is by no means an isolated area as there are schools all over the British Isles that are experiencing everything from drug misuse, racial hatred, knife crime and arson. It begs the question, “Where has it all went wrong?”

Do we look at the way we parent our children when they are in our care? Is television, gaming and the internet to blame? Do we question the way schools train their staff to cope with the modern demands of schooling our kids? Is our schooling system on the brink of anarchy? Well, the short answer to that is – No it isn’t!

Peer pressure obviously plays a big part in school crimes. Which is why it’s imperative that certain security measures are put in place to help prevent crime from happening in the first place.

At Crime Prevention Products we can supply a variety of security devices such as personal protection alarms which will alert staff and pupils that someone is in distress, Property Marking kits to help the Police identify and trace stolen property and return the items to the rightful owner, CCTV camera systems which will video and store captured images in high-definition making it easier to identify culprits and Handheld Metal Detectors which will insure that no offensive weapons are brought past the school gates.

Schools are, for the majority of kids, safe and happy environments. It’s a very small minority of pupils who carry out yobbish behaviour with little respect for others – by taking and implementing proper security methods, those who are intent of carrying out serious crime in our schools will soon be taught a very hard lesson indeed.

With the explosion of the internet and particularly the growing interest in social networking sites, people can simply look online and see ‘who is on holiday’, ‘who is out with friends’ or ‘who is starting a new job’. All these status updates alert a lot of people of what their doing in real time.

However, many users of Social Networking sites are naive to secure the information they post to their profiles. Making it easy for cyber criminals to scrape personal details for their own uses. Another trick that happens on sites such as Facebook is unsuspecting users clicking on harmless looking links that claim ‘they’ll show you who is looking at your profile’. Fact is, most of these links want access to your profile details, their called Facebook Worms and their sole intention is to infect a persons personal computer with malware. The link then posts a message to your profile telling others to perform the same task you just undertook and so the Worm spreads, collecting data as it goes.

There are sites out there that will help protect you if you’re unsure about clicking on a link – even if that link has been shortened by URl shortening services such as bit.ly etc.. One such site is the AVG Threat Labs (www.avgthreatlabs.com/sitereports) that allows you to enter a websites address and instantly see if that site is safe to browse…

Remember, when we talk of the term cyber crime we are not just talking of large multi national companies that deal in millions of pounds, it refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. With 500+ million people now activily posting their details onto social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, You Tube or Twitter, people have to be aware that they could be leaving not only their computers open to cyber criminals but their homes and businesses as well.

With the summer season coming to a close many of our seasoned travelers will be returning homeward in their mobile homes and caravans. For some they’ll be stored away in secure compounds, however, many will be simply left in the front drive till the warm weather hits our shores once more. With many caravans and mobile homes costing tens of thousands of pounds and that’s not including all the personal extras that people put into them, it is always best to invest in some decent caravan security products to stop someone simply driving away with it?

Caravan theft is big business and it won’t take long for a group of professional criminals to notice your unprotected pride and joy waiting to be stolen from your own front drive.
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With nearly every home in the world now possessing a computer, who can be 100% sure they are exempt from online criminal activity? As a home owner you can physically install home alarms which will alert you that someone is attempting to gain access to your home, driveway alarms which will alert you that someone is approaching your property, CCTV and door chains these are all designed to deter and prevent your home from becoming a target for thieves.

The number of people now using social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Bebo has increased to well over two billion people worldwide, and, with some encouraging people to install applications such as games, fun surveys and chat platforms this has now become the perfect vector for cyber-criminals to gain entry to information within your computer. So as you sit in your home chatting to your mates on any number of social networking sites, cyber criminals are busy hacking into your personal information. However its not just in chat and game platforms, Social sites such as Twitter which encourage the use of shortened URLs with services such as tinyurl.com and bit.ly which again makes it easier to mask the true identity of the URL that you are asked to click.
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In today’s society we can never be too careful, with opportunistic theft and snatch and grab on the increase we have to protect ourselves and our possessions, whether it be with personal alarms or CCTV. We are always looking for new ways to fight crime whether it be through the local police, private companies or facebook. Yes, that’s right Facebook!
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While Britain has the largest numbers of CCTV cameras in the World, 1 camera to every 12 people, do they really stop crime from happening? A recent study carried out, states that in some cities the crime rate has actually risen. Outside the criminal justice system, CCTV is the most heavily funded crime prevention system where spending is around £500 million of the tax payers money.
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On the 20th of January 2009, America will come to a stand still as Barack Obama’s inauguration as the next President of the United States takes place. One thing is for sure, it will be a security nightmare to manage. Normally, an inauguration of a new president is considered a National Special Security Event, which means the Secret Service is in charge of the countries security for that day. However, given the circumstances, as America makes history by electing its first black president, the country will be under the control of the Secret Service for 4 days.

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