Not all crime is preventable, but there are things you can do to make it much less likely that you'll be victimised.

Lock up!

Many of the steps suggested here are common sense, but they can make a real difference to your safety. By securing your home and property you can save yourself the distress and expense of crime, and make your community a safer and better place to live.

A burglar only needs to spot an open window, unlocked side gate or dodgy alarm to make their move. Think about it – if you know your home security looks poor, so will a thief. Many crimes are as simple as an opportunity exploited. Don't give thieves that chance.
Protect your home.

Most burglaries are carried out by opportunist thieves. In around 20% of all burglaries, they don't even have to use force. They enter through an open door or window. Safe and secure.

Reduce the risk of your home being burgled by taking these simple (and often inexpensive) precautions:

∑ Fit strong locks to external doors and windows, and make sure they are locked.
∑ Remove the keys and keep them out of sight and in a safe place.
∑ Fit five-lever mortise deadlocks to all external doors.
∑ Make sure the doors and frames are strong and in good condition. The doors should be at least 44mm thick.
∑ Consider using laminated glass (for windows) as this is much harder to break.
∑ Never leave a spare key in a convenient hiding place such as under the doormat, in a flowerpot or behind a loose brick - thieves know to look there first.

Stay safe from internet fraud

Internet fraud is one of the fastest growing areas of illegal activity in the world. If you shop online, take a few easy steps to ensure that your personal information is protected.
For many years the intense security that protected most internet-based transactions arguably made shopping online safer than shopping in the high street.

But over the last few years, clever hackers have succeeded in a number of internet scams - convincing those who bank online to give over their account details, for example, and creating false credit card encryption screens. So these days, you need to take extra steps to ensure that your information is protected. Don't become a victim

Here are a few things you can do to make your online transactions safer:

∑ make sure your web-browser is set to the highest security level
∑ use a recent version of a web browser - they have better security features
∑ look for a padlock symbol at the bottom of the page and 'https' at the beginning of the web address. If those are not there, do not enter credit card information
∑ if you have concerns, telephone the company to ask about its encryption
∑ print out your electronic receipt and keep it safe
∑ check bank and credit card statements to make sure the details match
∑ never disclose your PIN numbers to anyone, including people who claim to be from your bank
∑ remember, your bank will never ask you to reenter your account information, and they will never ask you to send your pin number in an email