Don’t let thieves steal your Christmas

Cumbria Constabulary has launched its annual campaign to ensure people keep their home and belongings safe this Christmas.

During the festive period many people will be concentrating on preparations for Christmas, by buying gifts, decorating the tree and stocking up on food and drink. Unfortunately there is a small minority who can cause misery at this time of year by breaking into people’s homes.

In order to help remind people to be security conscious, Cumbria Constabulary is dedicated to trying to prevent residents from becoming victims of a crime by stepping up their efforts to deter offenders and raise awareness of the precautions residents should be take to protect their homes and Christmas presents over the holiday period.

Assistant Chief Constable Michelle Skeer: “Cumbria is one of the safest places to live. However we don’t want people to get complacent or lax with their home security.

“We are committed to ensuring that this doesn’t happen this year and in addition to strengthening police patrols in our neighbourhoods to reassure residents and deter thieves, there will be local initiatives ongoing to provide communities with all the tools, equipment and information they need to keep themselves and their property secure this Christmas.

“In the next few weeks people will be out and about shopping for their Christmas presents and then exchanging gifts. I urge people to think about were to keep your presents, thieves can target houses with Christmas presents on view so we would urge everyone to be vigilant – don’t let thieves steal your Christmas.”

Police offer the following top tips to keep your house safe:

-          Keep gifts, cash & valuables safe & well hidden so they can’t be seen or reached by thieves

-          Lock doors & windows before you go out, removing keys from locks & keep them out of reach

-          Leave a light on in a room & draw curtains when you go out at night

-          Postcode your valuables with a UV pen, considering registering them on http://www.immobilise.com/

-          Cancel newspapers, milk etc when you go on holiday

-          Look out for your neighbours property

-          Make sure callers to your home are genuine, always ask for ID

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Posters and leaflets with crime prevention messages will seen across Cumbria in the coming weeks and will be a reminder to people to make sure they take all of the necessary preventative steps to ensure their property and belongings are safe over the festival period.

For more information or advice on home security visit http://www.cumbria.police.uk/news/campaigns/christmas-campaigns-and-safety-advice/dont-let-thieves-steal-your-christmas.