Personal Alarms
Youth Crime! Some Examples On How To Control It August 8, 2008
Following on from our last piece on the 27% increase in the number of children and youths convicted or cautioned in England and Wales, what should we do about it? The government appears paralysed about tackling this problem effectively with initiatives on this and initiatives on that but never getting to the root of the problem.
As a society we need to handle youth crime better, but how? Sadly discipline should begin at home but all too often it is left to schools to try and teach children conformity to the rule of law but if that same discipline is not in place at home as well, whatever they learn at school, children will believe it only applies to school! After all, if you are told at school that you cannot leave a desk or table without permission, or that you are not allowed to interrupt while someone is already talking but this is not enforced at home, then it is not long before a child believes that those rules must only apply at school.
Below are some options that are being considered and discussed as an alternative way to deal with out-of-control youth crime in the UK.
OPTIONS:
National Service :
There is a growing cry to re-introduce National Service. Can this be an option? Forcing 18 year olds to join the Armed Forces for a set period would certainly enforce the concept of discipline within them. Believe me you really have no choice but to learn to do as you are told and to follow the rules otherwise, ever increasing penalties may be imposed and it is generally not long before you begin to realise that if you conform you start to have a better life and more freedom.
Three Strike Policy:
This is used in several countries whereby if you continue to commit offences, by the third time you come before the courts you face a statutory punishment irrespective of personal circumstances. This works because the person concerned knows that they have already been before the Justices twice and therefore they know that the next time, there is a Statutory Punishment coming their way for example it could be a form of National Service as previously mentioned say for a period of 12 months or perhaps a 3 month army course run rather like Boot Camp.
Zero Tolerance:
This type of policy has had tremendous positive results in most places where it has been tried including New York (murder capital of the world) and where the crime rate was astronomical. One or two forward thinking police chiefs have instigated such a policy with generally good results in this country too, but it probably needs to be taken further. It is no use incarcerating someone under this policy unless there are specially designed holding units for them, just sending them to a normal prison is likely to be counter-productive because they are simply going to be mixing with much more hardened criminals who will teach them even more in criminal behavior!
In the meantime, while youth crime continues to largely go unpunished, continues to rise and the country continues to just talk about a solution, there are a choice of various types of Personal Alarms available which will at least make the holder feel a bit safer knowing that if anything untoward should happen, they are able to attract attention quickly by simply pulling the pin and producing 130+ decibels!
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Top Tips to Help Thieves and Burglars Steal Your Property July 30, 2008
Thieves and burglars seem to think we’re easy pickings and not too fussed about our valuables, property or personal belongings. We actually make it easy for them to take our stuff. Why would I say such a thing. We’ll here’s some examples of how easy we make it for thieves and burglars that we have all been guilty of at some point in time.
Snow Dropping Clothes
Clothes drying on a washing line are easy targets for thieves looking to upgrade their fashion range. Most of the time this type of theft is down to people leaving out there washing well into the evening or even at night-time mostly through forgetfulness. Installing security lights in your garden that will come on in the evening and deter potential intruders is the best way to deal with snow dropping thieves.
Back Pocket Wallets
Why do people still carry their wallets in their back pocket. Its an ideal target for pickpockets when they see the unmistakable bump in your trousers or jeans back pocket. If you have to carry wallets around with you then placing them in your front pocket is a much wiser decision especially in crowded areas.
Keys Left in the Ignition
A large percentage of people still leave keys in the ignition of their car because there just popping down to the shops or paying for petrol and it only takes a few minutes. It takes a car thief seconds to enter your vehicle and drive off. Break the habit of giving someone the opportunity of stealing your car – simple vehicle security : lock doors and windows and never leave your car keys in the ignition.
My Password is Password
The majority of us are on-line and we have accounts holding various information about ourselves including bank or credit card details. Security should be at the forefront of all our thoughts when we select our passwords. Having your password as ‘password’ or ‘letmein’ is just asking for trouble. Keep your details secure, mix up your password with an alapha-numeric password and no less than 6 characters length. Remember, identity theft is a fast rising profitable area for thieves don’t help them by having easy-to-work-out passwords for your computer or on-line profiles.
Leaving House Windows Open
The summertime brings with it good weather if we’re lucky enough – unfortunately good weather also brings with it the chance of opportunity for house burglars as we leave windows open to cool down the house. You can install window security that will help protect your home from an intruder or take it to the next level and get CCTV installed in your home.
We hope these tips will make your realise that bad habits, forgetfulness or sometimes just sheer laziness in protecting your possessions is what makes a thief or burglar’s job all the more easy.
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Thieves Target Central Heating Oil Tanks July 21, 2008
The amount of oil held in the average outdoor central heating oil tank is probably worth at least £1200 and is now making it a real target for thieves. Terry Rattee, Managing Director of Crime Prevention Products said “When you hear that thieves are already stealing petrol and diesel from cars parked up in the street because of the high cost of fuel at the moment, it was obvious that it wouldn’t be long before they realised the huge profits to be made by stealing heating oil.”
There are two things that can be done to help prevent this type of crime. 
The first is to install a Driveway Alarm in the vicinity of the Oil Tank so that if anyone goes in the area of the tank, an alarm or chime is sent wirelessly to a receiver unit in the house. (You may even fit additional movement detectors elsewhere around the garden which will send a signal to the same receiver unit inside). This way, the occupier is made aware of the movement and can take the necessary steps to stop the theft early.
The second is to secure the storage tank using a Chaperone Siren Padlock Alarm which is robustly made and will trigger a 110 decibel two-tone alarm if tampered with! Although the alarm stops after 10 seconds of inactivity, it will immediately re-sound if moved again and not many thieves want to hang around when such an alarm is going off, for fear of being caught.
Terry added “This Padlock Alarm is corrosion resistant and made with a hardened zinc alloy body and will sound off whether moved or subjected to shock (like being hit with a hammer or jemmy). It is weather resistant and the batteries can only be accessed when the padlock has been unlocked.”
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Fire Proof Letterboxes Will Prevent Arson Attacks July 11, 2008
POLICE officers have been conducting house to house inquiries in areas of Ramsey in relation to the ongoing investigation into a series of suspected arson incidents. Two suspicious fires have now occurred in the town during the last 3 weeks. The second happened at property in the Summerland area when a take- away food container was pushed into the letterbox and set alight.
A spokesman for the Northern Neighbourhood Policing Team said: ‘We are trying to gather as much information as possible and I am grateful for our community’s continued support and co-operation.”
If anyone has concerns about the security of their property, with particular regard to their letterbox access, you can get Anti Arson Letterboxes (see example right) and metal Visor Guards (see below) which will defeat the criminal, hands down! 
The Fireproof letterbox contains a small polymer tube filled with Ozone-Friendly FE-25 which will extinguish any fire within seconds, AND prevent it from re-igniting!
The Visor Guard helps prevent anyone reaching in through the letterbox to unlock the door or even to see much if they just try and peek in because they can only look downwards.
Police are also hunting an arsonist who struck at a house in Dalton last week. A number of firefighters battled to stop the blaze spreading through the mid-terrace house in Harpe Inge, after being called at 2.45am. Petrol had been used to fuel the fire, which ripped through the downstairs rooms and spread to the rest of the house. Smoke pouring from the blaze forced occupants of the adjoining houses to flee.
Finally, in yet another attack an explosion which partially demolished a house in the West Midlands is being treated as arson, police have said. The blast in Smethwick, just before 5pm caused a severe fire and 3 people living at the three-storey semi-detached home were accounted for and a number of nearby neighborus were taken into temporary accommodation overnight.
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Bike Alarms help reduce Bicycle Thefts June 30, 2008
THIEVES are in for a shock if they try and nick bicycles this summer thanks to a sophisticated new alarm now available by mail order. The Chaperone Bike Alarm 
(below left) is being backed by Crime Prevention Panels which hope the little black boxes (which are straightforward to fit) will spread across the country.
The summer months often see a rise in the theft of bikes with the mix of sunshine and children’s holidays seeing bikes left unguarded outdoors.
These 140dB alarms, that clamp onto a bike frame and are armed using a key, make a real racket when the bicycle is moved – acting as deterrent to scare away would-be-thieves. Imagine trying to ride off on a stolen bicycle that is screaming at 140 decibels as you go!
Terry Rattee, Managing Director of Crime Prevention Products said “This alarm is a great contribution to preventing theft because any thief will drop it and run when they hear how loud it is.” 
An alternative option is the Bicycle Cable Alarm (shown right) which has a 120dB alarm and 8′ of reinforced cable built into it making it also ideal to secure lawn mowers - motor bikes - power tools etc.
These alarms are available in a few good shops but are easily obtainable by Mail Order from Crime Prevention Products, one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Suppliers of Crime Prevention Products.
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Chaperone Domestic Panic/Help Alarm May 30, 2008
We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new Panic/Help Alarm which is designed for the elderly or infirm to allow the user to immediately call for help in the event of an accident, fall or feeling unwell. 
It is also useful for anyone of a nervous disposition or those living alone.This compact unit includes a lightweight neck pendant as well as a Panic Button on the main unit itself, so help is ALWAYS going to be at hand. The pendant works within a range of appx. 150 feet of the central controller. All that is needed is to plug the unit into a telephone socket (we even provide a double socket adaptor) and a mains socket, insert the battery (for back-up in case of power failure), programme in up to 3 numbers of your choice together with a short 10 second recorded message and you are ready to go!
Once the Panic Button has been pressed, the central unit will begin calling the first number to be dialled & the user will hear this message being transmitted. When the called number answers, they will also receive the pre-programmed message and just need to press any button on their handset and they will immediately be in two-way communication. Should the called number not respond (by pressing any button) then the unit will begin dialling the second number in the list and so on. A very useful piece of kit and at a very reasonable price too!
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Increased crime in the countryside! August 9, 2007
NFU Mutual, has recently revealed that its network of more than 300 offices based across the rural community, think that crime in the countryside is on the increase. In fact, nine out of ten believe it is on the up, with 93% saying that local people are now more concerned about rural crime than in the past.
Based on their local knowledge, more than half of the offices surveyed (57%) think that both crimes against the home and garden crime are increasing in their area.
Laura Wood at NFU Mutual commented, “Our risk management team are now seeing more opportunistic theft taking place – with thieves prowling the countryside for high value portable items which they can get hold of easily and sell on quickly.”
Despite this apparent increase in rural crime, a third (33%) of offices said that worryingly, the people in their community are not becoming more security conscious.
Wood continues, “We recommend that people take a look at the impression their property would give to a would-be thief on the look out for their next target. Locked gates, warning stickers in windows and evidence of Security Lights and Alarms all help to persuade opportunist thieves to try their luck elsewhere. Equally the presence of a barking dog, geese, a noisy gravel drive and prickly bushes around ground floor windows can all help to put thieves off.”
Fit and use security locks to all perimeter doors
Fit and use window security locks on ground floor windows and accessible first floor windows
Fit security heavy-duty padlocks and/or alarms to garages and other outbuildings
Don’t leave valuables on view
Secure ladders and tools out of sight
Security mark valuable property with your name and Postcode
Set timers for lights and radios when you’re not at home
Keep large sums of cash or jewellery in suitable safe protection
Keep garden tools secure and out of sight
Consider outside security lighting protection, suitably installed and located
Wood concludes, “The value of the rural garden is also on the up. People may potentially be spending more on state of the art barbecues, expensive garden furniture, tools and in some cases, valuable statues. When taking out home insurance, people often forget about sheds, stores and gardens. Although many home insurance policies will cover garden thefts, if you have some particularly valuable items then you should probably specify them on your policy individually.”
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Metal Detectors in Schools July 29, 2007
Metal Detectors Your Safest Choice:
Everyone has taken the time to pass through a metal detector and known that feeling of safety associated with it. It’s very simply put: metal detectors work and make people feel safe.
That added feeling of security is found throughout many of our day to day buildings we use in our lives and is also available to schools. By designating a particular entrance available to those entering the school you can control who goes into the building and what they bring into it.
Hand-held Metal Detectors allow the teacher or security guard to physically detect whether the person entering has any metallic items on them. The security agent simply waves the hand-held detector around the person to locate the source of any metal object.
Wondering how metal detectors work? There is an interesting explanation behind this effective and crime preventing item. Metal detectors use electromagnetic induction to detect objects that are considered metallic. Inside of the metal detector is a tool that when induced by a metallic current, it creates a magnetic field. When the metallic field comes in contact with a gun, a knife or even something as small as a razor blade, the device either emits a warning sound or if preferred, vibrates silently in the holders hand to warn of the presence of the object.
Hand-held detectors are affordable and identify exactly where the metal is located on a person’s body.
Stop taking chances and consider the metal detector as a method of deterrence for would-be criminals. Any security expert will tell you that having a metal detector is the ultimate way to put fear into the hearts and minds of criminals. People will think twice when they realise they have to pass through a metal detector in order to gain entrance. Consider making your building or checkpoint safer buy a metal detector today.
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Arson Attack through the Letterbox July 22, 2007
Family rescued after arson attack
Six members of a family were rescued from their home after it was set alight in an arson attack. Burning objects and fuel were put through the letterbox of a flat in the Park Village area of Wolverhampton last Wednesday evening.
Two adults and four children were led to safety by firefighters. West Midlands Police said they were investigating the incident and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
There are specially made anti arson letterboxes which are readily available which would prevent such incidents. 
These boxes come in various sizes suitable for the small home right up to the commercial offices and are very easy to install in a few minutes. They contain a neoprene tube which holds the extinguishant and works within a few seconds of the heat rising within the box. What is more, they also help prevent the material from re-igniting.
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Car Crime can be prevented with our Driveway Alarm July 18, 2007
Police are warning vehicle owners to be on their guard after a spate of theft and damage from cars in Borehamwood, Elstree and Radlett. In the last two weeks, 19 cars have been targetted according to Hertfordshire Police. Crime Prevention Officer Chrissie Barclay said: “Car criminals tend to be opportunistic and you can take precautions by parking in a well-lit spot or in your garage if you have one. Always lock your car. Never leave anything valuable in your vehicle and don’t leave ANYTHING visible.
“You may know that a sports bag on the back seat contains your football kit – but the criminal doesn’t. Don’t take that chance.”
To reduce the risk of becoming a victim of car crime, police advise:
When Parking/leaving your vehicle
• Close all windows, including the sunroof, and lock all doors.
• Turn on the immobiliser and alarm if you have one.
• Whenever possible park on your own drive, and remember to reverse the car in. The doors will then open the wrong way for a thief wanting protection. (One brilliant idea is to install a portable Driveway Alarm (pictured) which is so simple to use. The unit comes in two pieces, a transmitter and a receiver. Place the transmitter on your driveway at around waist height and perhaps at a 45 degree angle to the car. The receiver unit is kept indoors (you can even take it into the bedroom with you when you go to bed). Now, if anybody comes onto your driveway, the built-in movement detector will trigger the internal alarm to let you know that someone is about!).
• Put your aerial down to stop it being damaged.
• Don’t leave anything on display - take all your belongings with you.
• Remove your sat nav equipment remembering to also take the support cradle and suction pads.
• Remove your car stereo after every journey if it has a ‘face off’ facility
• Don’t leave anything of value in the glove compartment.
• Property-mark your stereo and satellite navigation system, and any other valuables you take into your car regularly.
For more advice about vehicle crime, look at www.herts.police.uk.
