Simon Harris, the neighbourhood police sergeant for Graveney and Furzedown, has kindly agreed to write a regular blog for Tooting Daily PRSS. You can find Sergeant Harris on Twitter where he regularly tweets tips on crime prevention and general policing updates for the area. He can also answer any questions that you may have. So, over to Simon...

As we near Christmas, burglary has traditionally spiked in the Tooting area - however, the good news is that burglary is down 21% this year from last year (Aug - Nov 2014). The police encourage all residents to book a free home security survey by a police officer. These are proving to be very popular and can be easily arranged.
 
In the theme of the 12 days of Christmas, here are my top 12 tips to protect your home.

1. Leave a light on if not in after dark
2. Use both a chubb and yale lock on front/back doors
3. If you have sash windows, get them re-beaded (if required) and ensure the frames are not rotten – due to housing stock in Wandsworth, a common entry method is simply lifting the glazing out of sash windows
4. Make sure your side gate is locked and consider trellising on top to make it hard to climb over
5. Cut down hedges in your front garden to remove the opportunity of burglars concealing themselves
6. Join or start a neighbourhood watch scheme – this could reduce insurance premiums
7. Security mark valuable property – take photos and record all relevant reference/index numbers
8. Consider purchasing an alarm or even a fake alarm box – or go the whole mile and fix a security flood light to the front/rear of your property
9. If residing in a multi-occupancy dwelling, ensure the main access door is always closed and locked
10. Ask Tooting Police to come round and conduct a free security survey of your home! Tweet @MPSgraveneysgt or email WW-WDSNTTeamC@met.police.uk
11. Consider blinds/curtains to prevent offenders looking through windows at your personal property
12. Gravel drive helps deter night time creepers

Wishing you all a very merry (and safe!) Christmas and New Year!

Want to suggest something for Simon’s next blog piece in January? Email us your suggestions here.