Darker Nights

Halloween

Halloween can be a scary time for people who do not like surprises or callers at the door.

Here is our advice for elderly or vulnerable residents:

• Place the ‘no trick or treats’ card on your door or in your window to help deter trick or treaters. You can download and print your own copy below.
• If you do receive an unexpected caller at the door do not feel pressured to answer it
• If you are expecting a delivery or visit from a professional always ask for ID or confirmation of their work place.
• If you have a door chain make sure it is securely fastened at all times and lock your porch door
• Be sure to use your spy hole viewer if you have one. If you have one, talk through your wireless video doorbell

Download and print off our ‘no trick or treats’ poster.

Firework safety

Fireworks and bonfires can be enjoyable and a great opportunity to bring people together. However, setting off fireworks or spontaneous bonfires can also cause stress and disruption to residents, wildlife, and household pets.

We recommend attending organised community firework and bonfire displays rather than doing this at home. If you doing a display at home, ensure you have buckets of sand, water, or fire extinguishers to hand to put out any flames.

Remember it’s an offence to throw or set off any firework (including sparklers and category 1 fireworks) in or into any highway, street, thoroughfare or public space.

For more information about the times, dates, and purchasing restrictions for fireworks.

Download our firework code postcard here

Keep burglars out

Protect your home against opportunist burglars by remembering to ‘lock up’ and check on your neighbours.

Dark evenings can provide perfect cover for burglars who can easily spot an open window in an unoccupied room, see your valuables through open curtains or blinds, or try their luck with an unlocked door while you are distracted by fireworks.

Here are some crime prevention tips to help keep your property safe:

• Try to make your house look as occupied as possible when you are not there.
• Do not leave your house and vehicle keys in the lock or on a side table in view of a window.
• Do not leave items in open porches that could be used to enter your home, for example, curved-handled umbrellas to open doors or keys through letterboxes
• Always lock your windows and doors when you are in. If you have UPVC front doors take extra care to lock these as soon as you get into your property.
• Check your UPVC or Euro cylinder door lock to see if it is snap resistant. It should be stamped with a three star Kite Mark. If it is not, you get the lock changed to either a SS312 Diamond Approved Cylinder, TS007 3 Star Kitemarked Cylinder, or a 1 Star Cylinder with 2 Star handle for maximum protection. For more information contact the Master Locksmiths Association, or read this guide.
• Cancel newspapers and milk if you are going away for a few days and ask a trusted friend or neighbour to keep an eye on your property. They can help by pushing post sticking out of the letterbox inside fully, or checking garden gates are shut.
• Play our interactive game 27 Station Roadwhere you are the detective at the scene of a house burglary. Explore the property and uncover clues about how the burglar broke in − and what the householder could have done to keep them out. 

Frosty morning warning don’t make your car cosy for criminals

 Thieves are opportunists, looking for an easy way to steal items of value from an unlocked or unattended vehicle. This could be cash left on display, a sat nav from the glovebox, a mobile phone from the dashboard or perhaps tools kept overnight in a work van.

• Every year, vehicles are stolen from driveways and outside homes when owners leave them to warm up with the key in the ignition.
• Car thieves watch the weather forecast too and will be out early in the morning on the lookout for vehicles left unattended
• High value vehicles are often targeted in this way as their advanced security technology makes them difficult to steal unless they already have the engine running and the key in the ignition
• Stay with your vehicle and if you’re in a rush, use de-icing spray and a scraper to speed up the process
• Sit inside your vehicle while the heater de-mists the windscreen
• Your insurance may not pay out if you are in any way deemed responsible for the theft