Home security

A secure home will reduce the chance of you getting burgled. Many domestic burglaries are committed by opportunists ; criminals will look for homes that have little or no obvious security, have doors or windows left open or seem unoccupied.

Listed below are some top tips to help keep your home safe from thieves:

• Installing an alarm system will help to deter burglars.
• Ensure you have a robust, secure front door with British Standard approved locks and hinges. See the link in Related Information for detailed guidance from the Master Locksmiths Association.
• Install outside lighting, such as motion sensor lights so that intruders cannot approach without being seen.
• Lock your doors and windows every time you leave the house, even when you are just out in the garden.
• Consider installing CCTV, as this is good deterrent for thieves and if you are targeted, CCTV can provide valuable evidence.
• When you go out, leave radios or lights in your house on a timer to make the property appear occupied.
• Keep hedges and walls at the front of your house low (under one metre) so burglars have nowhere to hide.
• Keep side and rear boundaries high and add trellis or prickly defensive planting to make it harder for burglars to climb over.
• If you have a sliding patio door, check it has an anti-lift device fitted so it can't be lifted out of the frame.
• Move bins or garden furniture that could be used to reach windows.
• Ensure communal doors in flats / apartments are closed and secure and report any faults to your landlord.
• Never buzz anyone in to the building that you do not know or let them follow behind you.
• Lock and secure any sheds and outbuildings .
• Property mark and register valuable items. See Related Information for details.

This will depend on the exact circumstances of the incident. The following should be used as a guide only for possible scenarios as each case will be considered individually:

If you set your dog onto an intruder and the person suffers injury then you may face prosecution. The court could order the dog to be kept under control/destroyed (dangerous dog not under control).

• If an intruder breaks in whilst you are out and is attacked by the dog then it is unlikely that you would face the need to defend a possible court order.

• There is also civil liability to consider in any damage that your dog may cause. It should be noted that most dogs will simply bark at an intruder but will not follow with a physical attack.

There is an offence of a dog being dangerously out of control in any place, so if your dog attacks an intruder, or visitor to your home then you could face prosecution.

Yes, it is perfectly legal to use anti-climbing paint although there are a couple of factors which should be considered when applying the paint.

• You should make sure the anti-climbing paint starts at a reasonably high level so passers by do not damage their clothing inadvertently

'Warning anti climb paint' types of signs should be clearly posted wherever the paint is in use. These should be posted to protect the company or householder from being sued in a civil court, e.g. to protect from civil action for damage to clothing.

The notices should be simple enough for a reasonably young person to understand as, apart from intruders, they are the ones likely to be trying to climb up.

Your home insurance company is one of the best places to get advice for a burglar alarm. They will have a list of approved companies that they recommend and by using one of them, they may offer a reduction on your policy. We cannot recommend an alarm company.

Any alarm company that you select should have one of the following accreditations:

• NSI (National Security Inspectorate)
• NACOSS (National Approval Council for Security Systems)
• ICON (an approval scheme run by NSI)
• SSAIB (Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board)

Yes, the details must be in writing and for a business it must be on letter headed paper. The details will be forwarded to the Force.

Yes they are. The best type of external light is one that stays on all the time. Any intruder that has made up their mind to break into a property will more than likely not be put off when a light comes on (that has been triggered by movement). If the light is on all the time then it may make them think twice before attempting to break into the property.

There are several other websites which give more precise advice regarding protective security in relation to the home, and your local crime prevention officer would also be available to advise you. The following points will be of general assistance -

• A burglar alarm is obviously highly recommended to make your house more secure.
• Windows and doors with a key operated lock on them.
• Lights on timer when you are out in the evening.
• Tell a trusted neighbour if you are going away, who can perhaps draw the curtains on an evening and remember to cancel milk and newspapers.
• Do not leave windows open if you are out, no matter how small.
• Have a chain and peep hole on the front door.
• Fit a restrictor to your letterbox to prevent people putting their hands through the letterbox to retrieve mail or open any locks on the door.
• Make sure your garden shed is adequately secure.
• Always keep doors locked even when in the house; an intruder can open the front door and grab your keys/handbag in a matter of seconds.
• All keys should be kept out of view but in an easily accessible place.

See www.immobilise.com which is a free website that you can use to register any property that has a serial number.

It is very rare for a person to be confronted by an intruder in their home.

In the heat of the moment it is not expected that you should make fine judgements as to how far you can go. You may take such steps which you honestly and instinctively believe are lawful and necessary self defence of either yourself, your family, or your property. You do not have to be attacked first to be able to use reasonable force in self defence.

Even if the intruder dies, provided you have used reasonable force in the circumstances described then you will not necessarily be prosecuted. If, having disabled the intruder you then go on and inflict further punishment then this would be deemed to be excessive and gratuitous force and you could be prosecuted.

If you suspect that a person is going to break into your house and you set a trap, rather than involve the police then this would not be deemed to be self defence or reasonable force.

If the intruder escapes with some of your property or you chase after them to affect a citizen's arrest you are still allowed to use reasonable force. The degree of force in this instance may have considerably reduced. To go beyond this as a form of punishment would again make you liable to a prosecution for assault and possibly civil action.

It should be understood that the Police will always have a duty to investigate this type of incident, but the Police and Crown office will always objectively assess all the facts recognising in the first instance that the intruder caused the situation to arise in the first place.