December is the time of year where we all go shopping for gifts for our loved ones.  This means that in the build up to Christmas our homes become a perfect target for burglars who want to help themselves to these sometimes expensive gifts.  December is also the time of year where people attend Christmas parties leaving their homes empty during the evening and again a target for burglars.

Businesses close for longer periods over Christmas, home owners may go away to celebrate the festivities with their relatives and therefore both home and business owners need to make sure they have reviewed the security of their premises and have a plan of who will attend their premises in the event of an alarm activation, this could be tricky with people consuming more alcohol during this festive season or if you are away visiting relatives.  If you are concerned about this please give PHX Security a call to discuss your options.

Below are a few security tips you could adopt to make your home or business more secure over the festive period or all year round.

1. Ensure your alarm is set when you are not at home or at your business premises.

2. Leave lights and a radio or television on in your home when you are not there to deter burglars. Don’t just leave your hall light on, ensure other lights within the home are also on.  If you are a business owner try to leave an office light on somewhere in the building.

3. Keep Christmas presents hidden away so they are not visible through windows or doors.

4. Keep all gates, windows, side doors and garages locked.

5. Don’t leave your keys on the inside of your door locks, a burglar could easily get hold of these.  Also do not hide door keys outside your property, if you want to leave a spare key somewhere ask one of your neighbours to look after it for you.

6. If you have the facility to set your alarm when you are inside your property ensure you do this for added security.

7. If you are a business that will be closed over the festive period consider using a Security Company to patrol your premises or respond to any alarm activations.

8. If you are going away over Christmas invest in some automatic light switches that turn themselves on using a timer.  Also ask a neighbour to remove any post from your letterbox for you.

9. If you are away ask a neighbour to open and close your curtains for you each day.

10. Do not leave presents visible in the back of your car, this is very tempting to thieves.

11. If you are going away leave contact details with a neighbour so should something go wrong they can get in contact with you.

12. Do not leave descriptive answer machine messages, such as "You’ve reached the Price’s we are away Skiing over Christmas, leave a message and we will return your call when we are back”

13. After Christmas dispose of your empty boxes quickly instead of leaving them outside your property, boxes that contained Laptops, Televisions etc. inform potential burglars what new items you have in your home.

14. Finally, stay safe, enjoy Christmas and remember PHX Security are around 365 days per year working towards keeping properties within the local area and residents safe.

PHX Security would like to wish all clients and potential clients a very happy Christmas and New Year.