Comment: The challenges of keeping burglars at bay in the current crime wave

The streets of St Albans, eh? They’re hardly the kind of crime hotbed that gritty TV dramas are made of, but burglaries are on the up and, as homeowners, we’re all getting uppity.

So how can we secure our properties and reduce our risk of being burgled?

Richard Burton went undercover on the not-very-mean but increasingly crime-ridden streets of St Albans to get a burglars-eye-view of how thieves think.

You know those TV shows where ex crims take reporters on a sort of how-to guide to carrying out a burglary, filling them in on all the tips and tricks law-abiding citizens tend not to know about? Well Richard has been on one such tour of St Albans, albeit with a home security expert and a police sergeant in tow. (If you saw three shady-looking characters prowling around Fleetville recently, you may have witnessed this week’s feature in action.)

My parents’ house was burgled twice while I was living there, so I know how devastating it feels to come back to a ransacked home. Despite living in many a dodgy area since then, I’ve been lucky enough to avoid a repeat occurrence despite having no security measures in place apart from a locked front door.

These days we have a burglar alarm and security cameras, so hopefully look a bit less appealing to opportunist thieves who are after a quick win. But since reading Richard’s feature I know there’s more I can be doing to stay secure.

I’m rubbish at bringing the bins back round the back on collection day, for example, potentially offering an easy route over the back fence and out of sight for one such opportunist. Not anymore!

Give it a read and help make these burglars’ lives that bit harder.