Safe borough
Thursday, August 11, 2010
You are less likely to be burgled in Hammersmith & Fulham than most other London borough’s according to the latest Police stats.
Figures show that during the last year, there were just 12.4 burglaries per 1,000 residents in H&F. That compares to 19.5 in Westminster, 16.7 in Camden and 15.7 in Haringey and Islington.
The figures fly in the face on recent statistics issued by moneysupermaket.com that suggested the borough is the third most likely area in the country to claim for theft on their home insurance.
There are several reasons why burglary rates in H&F are below average. H&F council is one of the only local authorities in the country to fund extra police officers. In fact, it spends more than £1.8 million per year to pay for enhanced squads of beat bobbies in Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham town centres. These squads have played a key role in deterring burglars by using stop and search powers and carrying out early morning swoops to recover stolen property from burglars’ homes. The council and police also tackle drug users and drugs pushers who are often involved in burglary.
Over the years the council has also helped residents to ‘target harden’ vulnerable properties by boosting security measures like weak locks and dodgy windows. Groundbreaking forensic property coding initiatives – like Smartwater, where valuable items are marked with unique traceable DNA – have also helped prevent burglaries.
Council and police bosses have also cast doubt on the accuracy of the moneysupermaket.com research.
Cllr Greg Smith, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “Research like this is notoriously inaccurate. This kind of survey is based on raw, unscientific data. The facts on the ground are that burglary in this borough is below the London average. If moneysupermaket.com would like a tour around the borough I will happily prove their statistics wrong.
“Burglary in H&F is relatively rare and that is because the council and local Police are taking a proactive approach to beating the crooks. But we still need your help. It is vital that all residents are security aware and make it as difficult as possible for burglars to enter their homes and properties.”
Moneysupermarket.com said it produced the analysis to encourage households to buy adequate home insurance.
Burglary often rises in the summertime. This can be because people are often away on their annual holidays at this time, or because people leave windows and doors open for ventilation in the warm weather. Taking the following precautions can help minimise your chances of being burgled:
* Close and secure accessible windows in unoccupied rooms.
* Never leave valuable goods
* Secure doors and accessible windows when you are going out, even if its only for a short time.
* Lock away any tools or ladders in your garden that a burglar might be able to use to force entry to your property .
When you are going away on holiday:
* Try to make your property look occupied by using a segment timer to turn your lights or a radio on and off periodically.
* Cancel any regular deliveries you may have.
* Try to arrange for a friend or neighbour to look in on your property from time to time. When they go away you can do the same for them.
