main content Community Safety - Home Security

The Safer Bromley Partnership brings together agencies such as Council departments, the Police, health authority, fire service, probation service, victim support, voluntary, business and community organisations.  A concerted co-ordinated united approach is far more effective in reducing crime and disorder than agencies working individually.

Outside Your Home

Most burglaries are committed by opportunist thieves.  Don't let yourself be and easy target, consider taking these simple precautions:

• Looking after your property:  Make sure your front door is strong.  Fit hinge bolts and/or fix a special steel strip into the doorframe.
• Strangers:  Be alert to people loitering in residential streets. 
• Burglar alarms: Visible burglar alarms make burglars think twice.
• Windows: Don't leave any windows open when you are out or at night when you are asleep.
• Gates and fences:  A high wall or fence at the back of a house can put off a burglar. A thorny hedge along a boundary can also be a useful deterrent.  Make sure the front of the house is still visible to passers-by.
• Spare key:  Never leave a spare key in a hiding place like under a doormat, in a flowerpot or inside a letterbox.
• Garages and sheds:  Never leave a garage or garden shed unlocked, especially if it has a connecting door to the house.  Always lock tools and ladders away.
• Side passages: Consider fitting a high gate across the passage.  If you share an alleyway with a neighbour, talk to them about sharing the cost.

In Your Home

• Make sure your house or flat is secure.  Always secure outside doors. Fit barrel locks top and bottom.  If you have to use a key, keep it nearby but not in view from the front door- you may need to get out quickly in the event of fire.
• Always ensure you put your car keys away, never leave them on view from a window or the front door.
• If your Housing Association property is not secure, speak to your housing officer, they may be able to help out.
• If other people such as previous tenants could still have keys that fit, change the locks.  Try not to give keys to workmen or tradesmen.

You can also carry out a DIY Home Security Survey for a better understanding of how to ensure your home is secure.

Safe as Houses

The Safer Bromley Partnership has put together a pack containing comperehensive security advice. The pack contains a Nominated Neighbour card and instructions to help you feel safe when faced with unexpected callers at your door. To order one of these packs please contact the Community Safety Team below.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour

Anti-social behaviour can range from noisy neighbours to neighbourhood disputes and from aggressive or threatening behaviour to vandalism.  Some of this behaviour is unlawful while some of it is simply a nuisance. What it all has in common is that it raises the fear of crime, lowers the standards of an area and is often the entry point for areas to become crime hot spots.  We are committed to challenging and reducing such behaviour and tackling the problems of anti-social behaviour.

Developing a Local Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch schemes are a way for people in an area to get together to help prevent crime and make their neighbourhood a safer place. Groups can vary in size, depending on the area and what people want.  They target local concerns - like burglary, vandalism or graffiti and devise ways of dealing with them.  Schemes develop close links with the police, who can provide advice and information about local problems.

Contact

Safer Bromley Partnership

Telephone: 020 8313 4395
e-mail: community.safety@bromley.gov.uk

Address: 1st Floor, St Blaise Building, Civic Centre, Stockwell Close, Bromley, BR1 3UH