With a few easy tips you can prevent becoming a victim of garden theft.

Securing your shed or garage might not be the first thing to cross your mind when you think of crime prevention. However, with the array of lawnmowers, power tools, garden equipment, bicycles and sports equipment kept in them, security measures should certainly be put into place.

The value of property inside sheds and garages is often much higher than you first imagine. The expensive items in can be attractive to thieves and an intruder can even use your tools and ladders to break into your home. For this reason it is worth checking to make sure your household contents insurance also covers your outbuildings.

Often garages and sheds are left unlocked or without any appropriate security, such as padlocks, chains or lighting. By installing these simple items you can give better protection to your property.

Gates and fences at the back of the house can be a deterrent to burglars and if the front of your house is kept visible to passers by, it will prevent them from being able to work unseen.

Plant protection is another way of guarding your property. A selection of thorny bushes and prickly plants planted near to potential access routes, such as fences and walls, are not only a visual deterrent but also a physical barrier to intruders. While these methods are ideal for making forced entry difficult through natural means, they should not replace traditional security measures such as padlocks, bolts and chains.

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This information could save a nasty incident happening to your child. Please print off and explain the necessities of understanding the points without scaring them into not wanting to enjoy themselves.

Young people can find themselves at risk, whether working at a part time job or out in the evening. To help keep you and your property safe and secure, try to follow these basic guidelines

Be sure your parents always know where you are and how to contact you.

If possible, go out accompanied by friends and return home with them.

If you do go out alone, arrange transport to and from where you are going – with a relative, friends or cab – and confirm arrangements for your return journey before you set off.

If your arranged transport from a concert or other event fails to arrive and you can see that you will be left on your own, speak to the organisers and ask to use their telephone to make other arrangements. Ask to stay until transport arrives.

Don’t accept a lift from someone you’ve only just met.

Try to find casual jobs, such as babysitting, through family or friends, and be careful about answering advertisements. Try to go with a parent or friend on the first day.

When babysitting, always make sure you have a contact number for the child’s parents so you can reach them if you need to. If anyone comes to the house don’t let them in. Ask telephone callers to ring back – don’t tell them you are alone. It helps to keep a list of emergency numbers in case of problems.

When working a paper round, if strangers invite you into their homes or offer you a lift, politely refuse and move on quickly.

Wherever you are, be aware of how to make an emergency telephone call and the quickest way out.

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Most burglaries occur when there is no-one home, so whether you are leaving the house for a few minutes, the day or a fortnight, remember to shut and lock all your windows and doors.

By now most of us are in a habit of making sure windows and doors are closed and locked on our vehicles and houses when we leave them, but in the excitement of going away, we can sometimes forget. If you have locks on your windows and a burglar alarm installed to your property it is important you use them.

It is advised you always try to make your home appear occupied. Here are some steps you can take to ensure this:

Get a friend, neighbour or relative to keep an eye on your house or flat. Even the smallest of jobs such as collecting post from the letterbox, sweeping up leaves, putting dustbins out and even mowing your lawn, can make it seem as though someone is home.

Cancel deliveries of milk and newspapers while you are away, as a clutter of these around your front door, becomes a clear sign that nobody is home.

Invest in some automatic time switches, which switch lights and radios on and off at set times.

Never leave blinds or curtains closed as this makes it obvious the property is empty during the day.

On your holiday

Tourists are sometimes targeted by thieves, so while you are away you still need to be cautious and take simple precautions, just as you would do at home:

Store passports and travel documents in a safe, which are installed in most hotels and villas.

Lock your bags and suitcases each time you leave your hotel room or villa.

Do not put your name and address on bag or suitcase tags, but put this information somewhere inside.

Keep a tight hold of your handbags, wallets and cameras while you are out and about sightseeing.

Do not leave your property unattended or on display when you are going for a swim on the poolside or at the beach.

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Just as we would protect our homes with the best security measures, it is also important to ensure our businesses and workplaces are secure.

Theft, vandalism and fraud are some of the things that businesses and retail outlets need to be guarded against. A few simple security measures can be effective in reducing crime.

Carrying out regular risk assessments of your buildings and property helps to prevent crime and reduce the fear of crime. These assessments will also aid in monitoring the business environment, which, if kept well maintained, adds a feeling of safety and security to your premises, your staff and visitors.

To reduce crime against your business and deter criminals consider the following:

Installing an intruder alarm

Having a CCTV system fitted

Installing security lighting

Improving signage

Ensuring openings such as windows and doors are secure with good quality locks and bolts.

Protecting information. Ensure that a firewall or an anti-virus system is installed on all computers and shred confidential papers.

Changing passwords on computers and alarm systems regularly.

Note the make, model and serial number of assets such as computers, mobile phones, printers and personal organisers. This makes it easier for police to trace the items if stolen and harder for criminals to sell on.

If you are a large company provide staff with a photo/ID badge and ‘sign in’ any visitors or people making deliveries. It is also good practice to challenge anyone not wearing a badge.

The recent introduction of the chip and pin system has reduced cases of credit card fraud in retail outlets throughout the UK, but by taking a few simple measures business and retail crime can be reduced further:

Be wary of people acting out of the ordinary. Look out for those who might hurry a transaction, choose purchases quickly or split purchases between different cards.

Keep records of stock and make regular stock checks.

Ensure staff are trained to use the tills, alarms and computers. Provide them with security and safety training, which is especially important at busy times of the year.

Keep personal property out of sight. Provide staff with lockers.

If you are a busy store remove cash from the tills regularly throughout the day and ensure all cash and cheques are removed from tills every night. It is advised you use a professional cash in transit company.

Leave the drawers of the tills open at the end of the day to show they are empty.

Install a safe to keep money and other expensive goods in and ensure your insurance company approves it.

Provide staff with a personal alarm or panic button.

Ensure your staff follow your company and bank policy when accepting cheques and credit cards.

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The UK security market is worth £6bn. The British security industry employs around 600,000 people.

2,000 companies specialise in the design, manufacture and supply of security equipment in the UK.

The UK security guarding sector is made up of 2,500 companies, employing between them over 125,000 security officers. The security guarding sector makes up over a third of the entire security market.

£1.2bn worth of property is stolen every year in the UK.

Total cost of crime in the UK 2005: £2.1bn. Total cost of crime since 2000: £13.39bn

Total losses from shoplifting in the UK in 2005: £767m. Average cost per shoplifting incident: £149

More than 100,000 people are affected by identity theft in the UK each year. Identity theft typically takes victims 14 months to clear their name and costs the economy over £1.3bn annually.

Burglary accounts for 14% of recorded crime.

37% of victims are unsure how they had become victims of credit card fraud and a further 19% attributed credit card account breaches to retailers, government agencies or third parties

There are an estimated 4.25 million CCTV cameras installed in the UK.

In the UK, retail crime costs on average £2.24bn every year: £1.52bn in losses and £0.72bn in prevention. Losses breakdown:

- external theft: £930m

- internal theft: £786m

- violence: £263m

- fraud: £107m

- burglary: £88m

- damage: £36m

- till snatch: £18m

- forecourt crime: £7m

We hope you will find this data interesting. It also shows how imperative it is to think about your own security needs before it is too late.

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We are very proud to announce that one of our dog handlers tasked with looking after a massive expanse of woodland and buildings West of Birmingham investigated noises from around 300 metres away and was met by four adults 23 years old spray painting over an old monument which is a major feature of the surrounding area. The four ran away but one was captured and another gave himself up after the dog indicated them and began to bark in a controlled manner.

They were escorted back down the hill and to police who were waiting after receiving calls from both the handler and the control room staff. The two were identified and are now awaiting the outcome of a police investigation.

This project is quiet for 99% of the time but has the potential of becoming volatile quite quickly. The handlers have all received abuse and one one occasion physical assault but have continued to thwart determined thieves. Due to the size of the site anyone hiring security services would need two static guards but by using one dog handler money has been saved and the site is more secure.

We are very proud of this team and they will be rewarded financially for their efforts.

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An increasing number of police forces are turning to “house traps” to help ensnare prolific burglars. Skip related content

The technique, which uses an empty property in crime hotspots, has already been credited with a significant fall in housebreakings in the areas where it is being used.

The traps are part of a Home Office-funded programme to encourage the police to adopt more innovative ways of cracking down on burglary.

The target houses are fitted with hidden cameras and are left insecure with valuables inside. In some cases, the valuables are remotely tagged or marked with ultraviolet inks, allowing police to quickly track them down and make arrests.

Thames Valley Police has recorded a 15% drop in domestic burglaries since adopting house traps and other similar anti-burglary initiatives in recent months.

Prolific burglar Jason Medlicott, 35 was caught by a House Trap as he broke into a university dormitory in Oxford.

The campus had suffered more than 15 break-ins and police decided to install hidden cameras in an empty dorm. It was left insecure and had valuable property placed inside.

Just 10 days after the trap was laid, Jason Medlicott took the bait, pushing open a window and stealing a laptop. He was later jailed for almost three years. Another 40 burglaries were taken into consideration.

The Thames Valley initiative has been funded by the Government’s Securing Homes programme, where £2m has been allocated to 16 forces across the country to buy technology to improve burglary detection.

Some of the items bought include automatic number plate recognition systems, tracking equipment, forensic scanners, intruder alarms, CCTV and property marking kits.

But it is the house traps which are creating the most buzz.

A number of forces are already operating such systems, and some forces have extended the traps to include vehicles.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: “This new equipment will not only help police catch the criminals who harm communities, it will help prevent crime as well.”

According to the British Crime Survey, there were almost 750,000 burglaries in 2008/2009. Although the Government says burglary has fallen by 54 per cent since 1997, it continues to actively encourage more innovative ways of catching the thieves.

Here at Mannix Security we already have the technology to protect empty houses, houses under renovation. By using strategic partners we can secure electronically property and receive notification if security has been breached. These devices can also work on building and construction sites very effectively.

Again Mannix Security are proving to be one step ahead of its competitors.

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