While Christmas is supposed to be a time of festivities and cheer, it's unfortunate to learn that Christmas burglaries peak at this time of year. The beginning of the month, specifically between the 5th and 18th of December is the most vulnerable period for Christmas crime and break-ins.

During this period people start their Christmas shopping, so there are a number of valuable items in their homes that wouldn't normally be there. From expensive trainers to PlayStations and perfumes, burglars can grab a number of valuable items in a short space of time if they gain access to your Christmas stash! 

The kids might believe that all the presents are being made in the north pole, the reality is, most presents are hidden in and around the house. In addition, the dark winter nights provide ample cover for criminals to sneak around your house undetected. When the sun goes down (around 4:30 pm) most people are still at work, so it's no surprise that this is the time your home is most vulnerable to burglars.

How to minimise the risk of a Christmas break-in:

If you'd like to reduce the risk of crime at Christmas, follow the handy tips below...

• Avoid putting presents under the tree ahead of time, especially if your tree is in front of your window.

• Don't hide presents in obvious places eg. under the bed. If your kids can find them, so can a burglar.

• Be careful how you dispose of packaging, the Harrods box in the bin could indicate there are expensive gifts in the house.

• Don't 'check-in' or make your whereabouts known on social media. This tells burglars your house is unoccupied.

• Don't turn all the lights off when you go out for the day/night, this could also indicate that you're out of the house.

• Don't leave presents in your car on the driveway, even if this is the only way your husband won't see them.

• Store high-value items like jewellery in a safe until Christmas day

Investing in better home security

Despite your best efforts to keep your home & presents safe and attempting to reduce crime at Christmas, you might find that you are still targeted by burglars. Alongside the steps we've outlined above, we'd highly recommend improving your home security system. A good home security system will not only protect you during Christmas, but it will also keep your family safe all year round!

What home security systems do we offer? Here at IDS Security, we understand that every home is different, that's why we tailor each home security system to suit your needs. Some key elements of our home security systems include:

• Burglar alarms
• Security cameras
• Door entry systems 
• Fire alarms

According to various Christmas crime statistics, burglaries and crime are on the rise this month - but there's no need to worry. Our team of experts are waiting to hear from you. They'll talk through your requirements and help make sure we supply the best home security system for you, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy the festive period.

Request a FREE Home Security System Quote >

Read More: Christmas Home Security

It’s no secret that most offices will be shut between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, while many businesses will remain shut all the way through until January 2^nd.

While this is great news for workers, it’s also great news for burglars as well, posing the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron is hot…or, more accurately, absent.

Christmas may be a time of giving but, for burglars across the country, it’s most certainly a perfect time for taking too – particularly if business security it lax.

Avoid returning to work for a New Year’s disaster by following this handy guide on how to safeguard the office when shutting down for Christmas.

Christmas Office Safety Tips

Shutdown Before Lockdown

As the office will likely remain uninhabited for several days, it’s important to not only protect your premises for risk of break-in but also risk of fire.

Naturally, the first port of call for fire prevention is to ensure all non-essential electrical items are appropriately turned off; including computers, festive decorations, etc.

You may also wish to turn the water off at the mains as an added precaution, to avoid any leaking pipes causing additional issues.

Conversely, you may want to set your heating systems to come on intermittently via a timer during the holiday to avoid any pipe issues, such as freezing.

Knowledge is Power

If you aren’t going to be the one to lock-up your work premises on the final day before the office holiday, it’s absolutely vital that the person tasked with doing so is clued up.

It goes without saying that the person given this responsibility will need to be reliable and trustworthy. However, that same person will also need to be briefed ahead of time.

Ensure the individual chosen to close up shop on your final working day is given a full run-down of the locking-up procedure in advance of the last day.

This will allow them time to: A. Get their head around the process; B. Ask any questions on anything they are unsure of; and C. Have a trial run if necessary.

Be Wary of Strangers

Christmastime brings with it an increase in deliveries, particularly if you allow your workers to get their personal effects and gifts items delivered to the office.

However, the increase in deliveries can also bring with it additional personnel on-site, many of whom you may not be familiar with. If so, be sure to exercise caution.

Allowing unfamiliar individuals on to your premises or, worse still, into your workspace can inadvertently gift them with valuable site information.

This can range from general layout and insight into entry routes to potentially even provision of security details and passwords.

Team Effort

Due to the nature of seasonal office closures, it’s not unusual for people to work late on the last day to get work wrapped up like the Christmas presents to come.

However, this can often lead to low numbers come closing time and can commonly leave the duties of locking up to a solitary member of the team.

Leaving a single worker to lock up prior to the Christmas holiday break can be a recipe for disaster and one that should be avoided at all costs.

Not only can holiday excitement lead to vital security measures being overlooked but the solitary nature of locking up alone also leaves the solo worker vulnerable to criminals.

Ensure there are at least two members of staff on hand for on the last day to provide your premises with safe and secure closure.

Christmas Lights

Turns out that the Christmas tree isn’t the only thing that benefits from a little bit of illumination during the festive period.

Ensuring the perimeter of your premises is well lit should be a high priority for any office manager or business owner.

Simply equipping your office entrance and site borders with lights can be an effective deterrent for thieves, increasing the chances of them being caught.

What’s more, it can also make it notably more difficult for potential thieves to survey your premises beforehand and considerably harder for them to go by undetected.

Office Safety with IDS Security

At IDS Security Systems, we know a thing or two about safeguarding businesses. In fact, we have been providing security solutions since 1996 and our experiences in that time make for good advice, particularly when it comes to business security.

In our experience, whether you’re a shop owner, an office manager or otherwise, there are certain security systems no business can afford to do without.

Check out this list of options currently available at IDS Security, designed to keep your business safe over Christmastime and running smooth all-year-round.

• CCTV Cameras

• Intruder Alarms

• Access Control Systems

• Security Barriers

• Fire Alarms 

For more advice on office security over Christmas and Christmas office safety tips, why not drop us a line today? Call now on 029 20 753 251 or get in touch online by clicking the button below.

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If Home Alone has taught us nothing else – and I think we can all agree that it’s taught us a lot – it’s that opportunistic criminals love nothing more than cashing in on Christmas, occasionally through hilarious, madcap means.

Sadly, most of us don’t have a Kevin McCallister on hand to fend off such yuletide looters, leaving your home very much alone and wide open to festive thievery.

Luckily, there are a few simple ways you can boost your Christmas home security this December…

Christmas Home Security Tips

Designed to ensure you and your family have a very merry Christmas that goes by without a hitch, here are our top Christmas home security tips for keeping burglars at bay and your home safe this festive season.

1. Don't Give Thieves a Window of Opportunity

A common mistake for many homeowners looking to deck their homely halls with outside Christmas lights is by feeding cables and extension leads through partially opened windows.

Naturally, this provides an effortless entryway for would-be burglars to gain access to the inside of your property. A Christmas home security fail - if you will!

In fact, it’s a literal glowing sign for any thief looking to go rockin’ robbing at Christmastime and a schoolboy error that should be avoided at all costs.

Where possible, opt for battery-powered and decorative illuminations to avoid any need for a plug-in power source altogether.

There are even solar-powered lights on the market if you want to kill two birds with one stone and give back to the environment at the same time.

If mains-powered decorations are all you have and the only option available, consider installing an outside electrical outlet to power your lights without needing to use the inside.

2. Get Rid of Gift Boxes Discreetly

With Christmas refuse collection notoriously disorganised and infrequent during the festive period, it’s not unusual for bags to mount up by the time collections are finally made.

In the case of recycling, this can leave you with a veritable shop window right outside your house, telling the entire street what now lies inside your house post-Xmas.

For passing burglars, this can be like watching The Generation Game, providing a glorified conveyor belt of boxes, packages and containers to whet their appetite.

To keep your contents protected, be sure to rip or fold up any boxes to obscure their previous contents, particularly those that housed something valuable, e.g. a games system or an iPad.

Better still, try to keep your recycling bags off the street and out of view until the night before collection to reduce the chances of a crafty criminal-turned-Columbo detecting what valuables you and your family had for Christmas.

3. Take Precautions If You're Vacating Your Property

Many of us will be looking to spend our Christmases with friends, family and loved ones at various points throughout the festive period. Naturally, this can and often will, involve leaving your property unattended in the process.

If you are going to be vacating your home for an extended period of time over Christmas, taking the appropriate precautions is vital when it comes to protecting your premises.

For extended absences, you may want to ask your neighbour to pick up any deliveries that may build up outside your door to make it less obvious.

Even if you only plan on staying elsewhere overnight, it’s well worth investing in a light switch timer to make it seem as though your house is occupied with periodic lighting.

A typical burglary takes less than ten minutes from start to finish and a good light switch timer can cost less than £30.00. If you can put a price on peace of mind, £30 is definitely a bargain.

4. Don't Leave Gifts In Full View

Gifts nestled safely under a Christmas tree is a given for most houses at Christmastime. However, that doesn’t mean you need to give the street a perfect view of your festive haul.

Leaving your presents in full view of the window – particularly when it comes to houses that back directly on to the street – allows burglars to size up your presents before Christmas has even arrived.

What’s more, once Christmas Day has come and gone, any expensive presents left in full view can leave would-be thieves salivating like a dog in a butcher’s window.

Simply drawing the curtains or placing such items out of obvious view is an easy way to remedy this, so be sure to get into the habit sooner rather than later.

Similarly, broadcasting the newest additions to your contents collection online via social media can also be a risky action. After all, how well do your really know your social media connections?

You could be advertising to the wrong crowd without even knowing it, so think twice before you post that status thanking your partner for the new 65” Smart TV that now sits proudly in your living room.

5. Ensure You Have Fire Safety Precautions In Place

Taking steps to deter thieves and keep your home secure from criminals isn’t the only way to keep your property safe at Christmastime – it’s also important to take fire precautions as well.

Christmas trees are a common offender when it comes to household fires at Christmastime, so keeping your tree away from open flames is a simple yet hugely effective way of reducing the risk of fire during the Christmas period.

Avoid placing your tree anywhere near a heating source, such as a fireplace or potentially flammable electric heater. Meanwhile, always refrain from lighting candles anywhere near your tree.

In addition to that, you may want to think about the tree lights as well. Old Christmas lights can pose a greater risk of catching fire and could see your festive fir light up in an altogether more dangerous way should a bulb blow.

Finally, be sure to switch your tree lights off whenever you leave the house and before you go to bed. Not only will it save you money on your electric bill, it also reduces the likelihood of a fire occurring in your absence.

So, there you have it: five great ways to boost your home security at Christmas. For more advice on how to keep your home secure at Christmas, why not drop us a line? Call now on 029 20 753 251 or get in touch online by clicking the button below.

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