Ways To Protect Your Student House From Burglars

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Moving into your first student house is an exciting experience for young people since, for most of them, it is their first time away from home and it gives a little preview of how independence feels like.

Living life on your terms and having fun with housemates is a big part of university life and while most of it is fun and games, student house burglaries are a real threat that affects a lot of students.

According to research, students are one of the most targeted groups by burglars in the UK and student houses are extremely attractive targets with multiple students living under one roof.

Each student is likely to own expensive items such as laptops, mobile phones, and gaming consoles, and if you combine with that their general naivety, you get the perfect target looking from a burglar’s perspective.

Burglaries can have a lasting impact on their victims with young students often left traumatised, away from their homes and families, and unable to focus on their studies.

Therefore, as a student, protecting yourself and your belongings must be your number one priority and here are some of the best ways to protect your student house from burglars:

LOCK UP

Locking up your doors and windows is probably one of the most basic and obvious ways to protect your student house from burglary, and one that you might already be aware of.

More than half of the burglaries are made possible due to unlocked doors and windows, which is why it is so important to not give burglars the opportunity to easily carry out their crime.

However, as straightforward as it may sound, it is much easier said than done, especially if you are running late for your morning lecture and forget to lock the door in a hurry.

Sadly, these momentary lapses are all that are required by burglars to break into your student house and steal away items of value.

You need to be mindful of locking up the house every time you leave the house, and also make it a habit to always keep it locked when you’re inside as well. Leave friendly reminders for your housemates to lock up every time since most student houses are shared and it takes a joint effort to keep them safe and secure.

In addition to that, before moving into the student house with your belongings, make sure to check the locks and whether they are up to the mark or not.

If you feel like they are compromised in any way, make sure to communicate your concerns with your landlord, since it’s their responsibility to provide you with a safe living space.

Take your time to discuss safety and security policies with the property owners and make sure you ask about the key duplication policies and whether the previous owners returned their copies before moving out or not.

KEEP VALUABLES OUT OF SIGHT

Burglars are opportunists looking for the quickest and easiest ways to get to your belongings. Therefore, to make it difficult for them to steal items of value, just keep them out of sight.

Avoid keeping valuable items such as laptops, money, jewellery, and credit cards where they can easily be spotted by anyone passing by.

Leaving them lying around near the window is like inviting potential burglars to come and steal them. If you have a study table near the window where you like to work on your laptop, remove your belongings after you are done using them and draw the blinds or curtains so that burglars aren’t tempted to break into your house.

In addition to that, when you buy expensive items such as electronic gadgets, make sure to not display the empty boxes out by the door.

Always dispose of them by breaking down the packaging, putting it in the recycling bin, and making sure to cover it with additional cardboard or paper.

MAKE IT LOOK LIKE SOMEONE’S INSIDE

Burglars case their targets before breaking in and wait for times when the student houses are empty and no one is around to see them, which is likely during the holidays such as Easter and Christmas.

What you can do to throw them off is to make it look like someone is inside when in reality there isn’t, and the easiest way to do that is by installing smart lights.

You can control smart lights from anywhere in the world using an app and an internet connection and turn them on to give burglars the illusion that the house isn’t empty.

You may also install light timers that automatically turn on the lights in the house at a set time, for example, turning on the front door lights from 7 pm to 7 am every single day.

REGISTER AND INSURE YOUR VALUABLES

Registering your expensive belongings on Immobilise – UK’s National Property Register makes it easier to trace them down in case they get stolen.

All you have to do is sign up and note down details of your items on their free database, which all 43 police forces in the UK have access to.

In the event of a burglary, this information can be used to find the stolen items since it increases the likelihood of them being retrieved.

In addition to that, while getting contents insurance may seem like an unnecessary overhead along with so many student bills to pay, it pays off in the long run.

BE CAREFUL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

With the advent of social media, stalking has got a new meaning with many burglars using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms to find personal information of individuals such as their addresses, phone numbers, and even daily routines.

You must avoid posting details of your location, such as check-ins, as they can alert the burglars about your whereabouts and whether the house is empty or not.

It is also advised to not post pictures of your house where the layout is easily visible. Potential burglars can use this information to plan out a way to break in without even having to physically case your house.

Also, do not post about recent expensive purchases on social media since it may attract potential thieves, as is apparent with the Kim Kardashian Paris robbery.

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LET IN

Sharing a house with other students can mean that you may have guests coming in and out of the house, some of whom you may not know or recognise.

While that is okay, you must make sure that the visitors are identified by at least one of your housemates since you wouldn’t want unwanted people coming into your house and eyeing your belongings.

Even if you have a party and word gets out, and you see uninvited guests turning up at your door, politely ask them to leave since you can, under no circumstances, put yourself, your belongings, and your housemates at risk.

INSTALL SECURITY SYSTEMS

In addition to the aforementioned ways to protect your student house from burglars, you can do a lot more by investing in high-tech security systems such as smart locks, CCTV cameras, and burglar alarms.

You may talk to your landlord about them and, if they are not already sold on the idea, you can tell them about their several advantages of not just deterring burglars but also providing evidence for identifying and catching them in case they choose to target your student house.

SMART LOCKS

Smart locks are keyless electronic or mechanical locks that let you lock and unlock your door wirelessly using either an app on your smartphone or various other authentication methods and are one of the easiest ways to add more protection to your student house.

They are ideal for instances when you are running late for class and are not in the right state of mind to be worrying about doors and locks.

Smart locks offer an auto-locking feature that is perfect for such forgetful students that automatically locks the door behind you after a certain amount of time.

Instead of using keys, that can easily be lost, stolen, or copied, smart locks are keyless entry systems that use access cards, access codes, proximity fobs, fingerprint scans, retina patterns, facial recognition, voice recognition, and Bluetooth to unlock doors.

Allowing and restricting access is as easy as a tap on the screen and you can easily give out temporary access to family and friends visiting for a short time instead of making a copy of the keys for them to use.

Smart locks don’t just allow you to control who enters your house and when, but also allow you to monitor access to know when the system was used and by whom.

CCTV CAMERA SYSTEMS

CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) cameras are one of the best deterrents against burglaries and intrusions and placed on the front door of your student house, they will help you keep a check on what’s happening on the property, regardless of the time of day or where you are.

The mere presence of a CCTV camera is enough to scare away burglars for the fear of getting recorded, identified, and caught.

If a burglary does occur, CCTV footage recorded with the cameras can be used to identify the criminals, and it can also be used as legitimate evidence in the court of law.

The systems also come with a remote monitoring feature that allows you to view what’s happening in the house from absolutely anywhere in the world.

Other great features to look for when buying a CCTV camera include motion sensors, notification alerts, high-resolution, night-vision, wide field of view, adequate storage options, built-in alarms, pet-friendliness, professional CCTV monitoring, and integration with other security systems.

Some of the most popular types of CCTV cameras include bullet CCTV cameras, dome CCTV cameras, C-mount CCTV cameras, PTZ Pan/Tilt/Zoom CCTV cameras, day/night CCTV cameras, infrared/night vision CCTV cameras, network/IP CCTV cameras, wireless CCTV cameras, and High Definition (HD) CCTV cameras.

CCTV cameras are lawful to use and you are permitted to record the footage, however, there are certain legal requirements that you must abide by to respect others’ privacy.

There are certain places where you must not install security cameras, such as the bathrooms and bedrooms, and for other places inside the house, you must mention it to visitors if they are being recorded since they might not be very comfortable with the idea.

When using outdoor security cameras to monitor the front and backyard, extra care must be taken to place the cameras in a way that they record only till the boundary of your house and do not intrude on the neighbours’ privacy.

All landlords and property owners need to ensure that their CCTV systems comply with the laws and guidelines laid out by the GDPR and DPA, since the inability to do so may subject them to appropriate legal action by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

BURGLAR ALARMS

Burglar alarms are designed to detect intrusions and break-ins using a series of sensors that sound an alarm to facilitate a fast response as soon as they occur.

They can be particularly useful for detecting burglaries and intrusions and may be installed along the perimeter of the student house.

There are various types of burglar alarms to choose from, all of which differ in the level of alertness that they offer.

You may opt for a bells-only burglar alarm that makes a loud noise, sometimes accompanied by flashing lights, to alert the people nearby of the intrusion. These are unmonitored systems that are best used for smaller, lower-risk properties.

Dialler burglar alarms guarantee a higher level of response than bells-only systems since, in addition to sounding a loud alarm, they automatically contact whoever’s in charge or nominated to be contacted in the event of an alarm trigger.

For maximum protection and to ensure that no intrusion goes undetected, especially when the student house is empty and uninhabited, you may opt for professional alarm monitoring services.

In burglar alarm monitoring, the system is connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) manned by professionals where the alarms are first verified and, depending on the type of contract – keyholder or police response – the relevant people or authorities are contacted right away.

With smart burglar alarms, you can use an app on your smartphone or tablet to receive instant notifications whenever any suspicious activity is detected. They also allow you to remotely control the system from your phone and connect all compatible devices including security cameras, lights, and other sensors.

CONTACT CALDER SECURITY

At Calder Security, we understand the special security that student houses require and are here to provide you with a comprehensive security solution that includes not just professional installation but also monitoring, maintenance, and repair services for the best security systems out there.

We are members of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA), approved members of the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB), and also conform to all the relevant British and EU Standards.

We follow all the best practices in the industry and install only high-quality, state-of-the-art security equipment.

We offer various levels of monitoring via a 24-hour monitoring centre using Dualcom and BT Redcare signalling, which is the most secure alarm monitoring system and the largest supplier of intelligent alarm signalling services in the UK.

We understand the importance of having to regularly maintain security systems since the inability to do so might result in serious faults and consequent vulnerabilities in the security.

We provide professional maintenance checks and reminders for when the checks are due to help you stay compliant with the law and work fast to restore your security systems to excellent condition.

We offer a 24-hour call-out service for customers and can also repair systems not installed by us. Our engineers are highly skilled and can restore faulty systems to full working order in one visit.

Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash

Ways to protect your student house from burglars