Ipswich District Crime Prevention Coordinator Sergeant Nadine Webster says engraving property at the beginning of the year is a good way to go.
Ipswich District Crime Prevention Coordinator Sergeant Nadine Webster shares the resolutions people can make this New Year to help improve personal and community safety.
Make property identification a yearly activity
“The Christmas and New Year period is a time when a lot of new items are coming into our homes through gifts and post-Christmas sales. Because of that, it’s also the best time to make property identification a priority.
If you make it a resolution to engrave new property each year as it comes into the home that way you will be able to keep up with it.
Property identification, through engraving or microdots, improves the ability for police to return property to its rightful owner if it ever becomes lost or stolen.
Microdots are a modern way of marking property for identification, are smaller than a grain of sand and each is uniquely laser encrypted with their own code.
It’s also important people keep serial numbers for products, note them down and keep that information in a secure place.
Engraving equipment can usually be loaned from local police stations, and microdot anti-theft products are available at hardware stores.”
Join the Community Camera Alliance
“The Christmas and New Year period is also a popular time for home improvements and you may have purchased CCTV cameras to improve your home security.
That’s a good first step. The next step is to register them with the Community Camera Alliance.
The Community Camera Alliance is a voluntary program that allows people to register their cameras to help police better understand what crime prevention and investigation resources are out in the community.
CCTV footage holders are regularly used to investigate and solve often serious crimes and such footage can be invaluable when used as evidence.
Registering your camera with the Community Camera Alliance is quick and easy. A registration form can be downloaded from the My Police blog at mypolice.qld.gov.au/ipswich“
Take vehicle security seriously
“Ipswich Police have noted a rise in unlawful use and unlawful entry of motor vehicles across the district in recent months.
It sounds obvious but don’t leave phones, wallets, jewellery, laptops or iPads in cars.
Another common mistake people make is to leave their windows down during hot days. Some people have even left the air-conditioner running and keys in the ignition while running in to a store to get something and return to find their car stolen.
We know it’s hot but it’s not worth the risk and makes you an easier target for thieves.
A lot of vehicles are stolen from the street, so wherever possible park in your yard.
Installing one-way screws on your number plates is one of the most effective anti-theft measures you can take.
The screws do not cost much and are available at car accessory stores and hardware stores.
Ipswich Police with the assistance of Ipswich District Crime Prevention is hosting two free safe plate installation events this month are the following locations:
- Thursday, 17 January: Riverlink Shopping Centre, 4pm-7pm
- Thursday, 24 January: West Ipswich Service Station, on Brisbane Street, near Anaconda, 10am-2pm
Carry out a home security audit
“Perhaps the quickest and cheapest people can improve their personal and community safety is through a home security audit.
Basically it just means taking a look around their property with these things in mind: time, light and noise.
Time is about making sure it is hard for people to get in and out of your property. So it is things like locking screen doors while at home, closing up any gaps and putting dowel in windows.
Lighting is about visibility, can an offender be seen if they approach your property? Keep the yard tidy, hedges trimmed, install sensor lighting.
Noise is about making it hard for would-be offenders. We want offenders to have to be heard entering a property, we don’t want them to be able to just walk in and walk out.
This is again about locking doors, so making sure they have to try a locked screen door if they want to enter, which will make noise.
A checklist for a simple home security audit is available at www.police.qld.gov.au“
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