Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Twenty-five per cent of people are worried about the safety of their elderly relatives when they are at home on their own and 20% worry about their own safety when home alone, according to research commissioned by The Suzy Lamplugh Trust and Chubb and carried out by RSGB in Autumn 2000. The survey revealed that whilst nearly a quarter of us worry about the safety of elderly relatives and nearly 20% of us worry about our own personal safety at home, that this is not matched by action to ensure that our homes are safe.

The research showed that:

• 25% of people worry about the safety of elderly relatives when they are at home alone

• 11 % worry about the safety of teenage children at home on their own

• 19% sometimes feel uneasy when they are at home alone in the evening

• 34% have security locks on doors and windows, but only check them they when they are alone

• Only 18% have their security devices regularly serviced

• An alarming 17% have no specific security devices at all

• 23% have felt uneasy about someone trying to sell to them at their door

“We worked with Chubb to commission this research in order to get a better picture of just how safe people perceive themselves and their loved ones to be when they are at home,” says The Suzy Lamplugh Trust director Diana Lamplugh. “The 1998 British Crime Survey figures show that in reality only 6% of people experience crime at home every year, but the fear of crime has a large impact on people’s lives. We are not surprised, however, that the survey shows that people could do more to ensure their own personal safety at home. We often assume that nothing will happen to us, especially at home, and yet a little bit of advance planning and care is the best way to ensure that we stay safe.”

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust offers the following advice to keep safe whilst at home:

• Fit a door chain, spyhole and outside lighting so that you can identify callers

• Lock the doors when you are inside the house

• Ask for proof of identity from people you do not know

• If you are at all suspicious phone to check people are who they say they are

• Fit security measures such as locks on doors and windows and ensure any security devices such as alarms are regularly serviced

• Fit notice saying that door to door salesmen are not welcome