Refuse strangers access

Security consciousness is of prime importance. There is little point installing physical security barriers around your property and then leaving doors unlocked.
Most people will ensure the front and back doors are locked when they go to sleep. However, burglars do not always wait until people are asleep. Sometimes they quietly enter through an unlocked door while members of the family are watching television in the lounge.
There have been instances too of burglars descending on a property in broad daylight, when the family is at work and there is only a maid and gardener on the premises.
It is important therefore, to convince the maid of the importance of keeping the front and back doors and any other doors leading to the outside locked at all times, particularly when she is alone in the house.
It is equally important to impress on her and any other domestic employee that nobody who arrives without prior warning from you should be allowed onto the premises, unless they are satisfied that he/she is an authorised water or electricity meter reader or that they recognise the person as a close relative or friend of the family.
If this rule is not strictly adhered to, it becomes easy for thieves to pose as extended family members or as television repair people in order to gain access.
Many people have had their homes cleared of their belonging by thieves who have gained access in this manner.
If an employee is in any doubt, he/she should ask the person concerned to wait outside the gate while he or she telephones you to seek your instructions.
When evening comes, make sure that windows are closed in unoccupied rooms. When retiring for the night, make sure all windows are properly closed.
While some people like to sleep with their windows open, doing so  poses a security risk, even when there are burglar bars.
Some people have learnt this to their cost when they have woken up to discover that clothes have disappeared, after they have been fished out of the room through the window by a thief using a long stick.
Leaving a top window open enables a burglar or thief to fairly easily put some looped wire through it that will enable him to open the larger window below it.
When retiring for the night, also make sure that all internal doors are locked. This limits the access that a burglar who manages to get into the house has.
Leave some bright lights on outside, over the doorways and by the gate, for instance. The lighting should be good. Dim lighting is worse for security than no lighting at all.

– This column is sponsored by Safeguard Security in the public interest. If you have  security issues you would like advice on in this column, please e-mail your request to mail@mhpr.co.zw or telephone Jackie at Safeguard Security, Tel. 751395 9.