Is your home secure while you are on holiday?
Australians are lucky. Most of us are entitled to four weeks annual leave a year, many of us are lucky enough not to have work on weekends, we have 12 National public holidays a year and then each state has a few more of their own. All this time off means we have the time to travel! And travel we do.
In 2019, the total caravan and camping visitor nights exceeded 60 million and 14 million trips for the first time. When you reflect that there are 24.8 million Australians and 8.4 million households, caravan and camping holidays has become an integral part of our national travelling behaviour.
However, travelling locally or overseas does come at cost. When you are away in your caravan your home is left at risk of break in. Opportunistic thieves will have noticed that your caravan, formerly parked on your property, is not there this weekend. They know there is no-one at home. It only takes a few minutes for criminals to access your property, so make sure you have taken all the precautions you can to ensure that your property is safe.*
Here are some stats
- In 2017 there were 225,900 recorded burglaries in Australia. This averages out to be one every 3 minutes.
- Most burglaries occur during the day. You might imagine burglars would crave the cover of darkness. Not so. A 2016 survey revealed that the most common time burglaries occurred was between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. with nighttime burglaries (between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.) accounting for only about 17% of all burglaries. So while you are at work is when you are likely to be robbed.
- It takes the average burglar only 5 minutes to enter the house
How to avoid a home burglary
The last thing you want to worry about when going on holiday, even if it is for only a couple of days, is the security of your home. There are some very simple strategies to keep your house secure while you are enjoying exploring the country.
Make it difficult for an offender to gain entry
This means locking all windows, having security screens where applicable, and deadbolts on your doors.
Let your neighbours know you are going away
In Australia, most of us depend on our good neighbours. They'll often be the first to realise something dodgy is going on. Don't let them wonder whether that person is meant to be in your house, losing vital moments while police should be called.
Install outside lights with motion detectors
There are a few things burglars hate, dogs and lights. Since you won't be leaving your dog at home alone, install some motion detecting lights.
Install a home security system
You can install a few cameras or you can go the whole hog with a monitored alarms system and camera. Whether monitored or not, it's good to have cameras if your alarm trips. You can inspect the house yourself.
The installation of a home security system is one of the most sensible things you can do to avoid a break in.
A survey of former burglars revealed that they were more likely to avoid homes and business with security cameras and barking dogs. Because you are away and your dog will be with you, you will have to rely on the evidence of CCTV cameras to act as the deterrent.
CCTV cameras are a simple affordable way of keeping your property safe and giving you peace of mind while you are on your caravanning trip. There are a number of benefits of installing security cameras and one of the most useful is that you can view your property while you are away on your smart phone. Any unusual movement can send you a notification for you to review. Of course, a security system is only as good as you turning it on every time you leave the house!
Sit back and enjoy your holiday knowing your home is safely secure with CCTV security cameras.
Coming up next: You have secured your home, now secure your caravan with a security system…
- For this article, we spoke to a local alarm installer, Bob Pearce. He mentioned to us that a very common time to get burgled is when you nip out for a short chore, like walking the dog. Burglers look for visual clues, like leaving the house with a dog or a caravan missing from your front yeard, to know when to enter your home.