Break-ins occur more frequently at this time of the year due to the longer nights and people attending festive celebrations.
Sergeant Steve Valentine works for the East Area BCU, and is based at Romford Police Station.
Speaking to Time 107.5, he gave this advice to help protect your home.
Sgt. Valentine said: “If we’ve got potential burglars looking for a house to burgle … if the lights are on, they’ll probably go and find another house where the lights are not on, which gives the indication that the person is out.”
He added that lamps with timers can “give the impression people are moving from room to room and there is somebody in the house.”
Uploading images and statuses while at events or on holiday can increase the risk of properties becoming targets for burglars.
Sergeant Valentine said: “I would stress not to put comments on social media highlighting or advertising the fact you are going to be away and that your house is going to be empty.
“If they have deliveries coming have a neighbour or relative come take the packages inside.”
Sgt Valentine also pointed out that, particularly around Christmas, waste can give an indication as to what is inside a house.
“At this time of year, people generally go out and buy new items for their homes or gifts for people.
“What we often find is, say they buy a large flat-screen TV or a laptop or games console, after Christmas they’ll put the rubbish out to be collected. The boxes are often too big to go in the recycling sack so they’ll put the box straight outside their house.
“This is advertising to anybody passing by that they’ve a new flat-screen TV or they’ve got a new PS4 or a new laptop.”
Sgt. Valentine suggests taking them to the dump or cutting them up into smaller pieces and putting them in a sack so they can not be seen.
Sgt. Valentine also emphasised those who believe their home has been broken in to put their safety first before checking for evidence.
“They need to establish that there isn’t a burglar still in the house,” he said. “Once they have established that, I would suggest they need to go round and see what has been touched.”
Points of entry, shiny surfaces, markings or even footprints should be preserved for the forensic team to obtain the best evidence.
EA3350 @LBofHavering @lbbdcouncil @RedbridgeLive #staysafe #WinterNights pic.twitter.com/5TZfPJcOyn
— Havering MPS (@MPSHavering) November 26, 2018
Sgt. Valentine addressed comments on social media that criticise police when they do not immediately respond to a burglary report.
He explained that they will send officers immediately if the burglar is still there.
“We have to prioritise what we do and if there is a fight going on somewhere (with) weapons involved, we have to prioritise that.
“If the burglar is still there or nearby we will always come as an emergency response.”
Sgt Valentine added that police use social media to highlight crimes that happen across the East Area.
You can find out more by following police in Havering, Barking and Dagenham, and Redbridge.
Tags: Havering, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham
