For most of us Christmas is a time for giving, however as the West Midlands Police festive crime awareness campaign suggests, Christmas is also a time for taking.
Officers are launching a crime awareness initiative today (Wednesday 3 December) to put crime prevention awareness at the front of people’s minds as they prepare for the busy holiday season.
Robbery, shoplifting, vehicle crime, fraud and petty thefts traditionally rise at this time of year and people can easily fall prey to thieves as they may not be as security conscious as usual.
December’s dark nights give burglars plenty of cover to break into houses. Householders are reminded not to leave valuables and presents where they can be seen by passers by looking into the house.
The top five valuables burglars look for are:
- cash
- jewellery
- computers, including laptops and play stations
- credit and debit cards
- mobile phones
It is not just consumers that need to be more wary at this time of year, trades people are also urged to be wary and to proactively register items on immobilise.com:
Trades people are reminded to remove tools from their vans overnight, to postcode their equipment and register any tools with serial numbers at www.immobilise.com
The top five things stolen from vehicles are:
- auto accessories including hub caps, number plates and car badges
- audio items such as CDs
- car radios and CD players
- tools
- other on display items such as satellite navigation systems.
To read more please visit the West Midlands Police press site.