Welcome to the FSL Blog. Here, we will provide you with regular updates on our products and services as well as useful security tips and news from the FSL team.
2020 is the Summer of ‘Staycations’. With many homes left vacant, incidences of theft and burglaries can become more prevalent. We have compiled a list of security tips to safeguard your home while you are away.
The tips below are a combination of recent advice from An Garda Siochána based on incidences of home invasions/robberies they have seen as well as some advice from our company director, DJ Flanagan.
- Ensure all doors and windows are locked when your home is vacant. While this may seem obvious, it is very easy to leave a door or a window open when leaving the home in a rush. DJ’s best advice in this regard is to ‘lock as you go’. If you go out the back door, lock it when you come back in. This prevents doors accidentally being left open.
- Never leave house or car keys in proximity of your letter box. In 2019, over 200 cases of ‘fishing’ were reported to An Garda Siochana. Fishing is where burglars gain access to the house or car through ‘fishing’ keys which were either in the lock of the door or stored close to the door, through letterboxes. Securing your windows is also important in this regard.
- Do not leave valuable items such as laptops, tablets, jewellery, wallets etc. on display. Store all valuable items in a safe place, out of sight when your home is unoccupied.
- Do not keep large sums of cash in your home.
- Do not leave keys under mats, flower pots, stones etc.
- Always turn on your intruder alarm, even at night when you are in the house. Our systems can be linked to a 24hr monitoring company which will alert an emergency contact and An Garda Siochana in the event of an intrusion.
- Light up the exterior of your property. Security lighting, particularly motion sensor lighting can serve as a great deterrent for intruders. They don’t like to be seen! CCTV is also a useful deterrent in this regard.
- If you are away for a period of time, close/lock your gates.
- Do not leave ladders or tools lying around outside. These can be used to gain entry to your home.
- Most importantly, be sensible, if you observe any suspicious activity around your home, report it to the Gardaí.
If you would like any further information regarding the home security products mentioned above (Intruder Alarms, CCTV, Security Lighting) please feel free to have a look at the product services section of our website or contact us for a free quotation. FSL will happily come to your home and tailor a security system suited to your individual security needs.
Please see also:
Security Tips from An Garda Siochána
