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Gardai offer tips to avoid getting burgled while on holidays

Tips to avoid being burgled

We’re well into June now and the holiday season is starting to get going.

Many of us will pack our bags over the next couple of months and head for destinations in Ireland and abroad.

Gardai sat the majority of burglaries take place in unoccupied homes.

And the following are some of the things, according to Gardai, a burglar looks for:

• No lights on at night, or just ‘dead’ lights on (porch, hall)

• Lights on constantly during the day

• Blinds pulled down, or curtains across during the day

• A build-up of papers and/or flyers in the letter box

• A build-up of letters in the hall or porch visible from outside

• A build-up of milk on the door-step

• Front gates closed and no car in the driveway

• Notes left for delivery men or callers

• Uncut lawn and untidy garden.

Most burglars are opportunists and will select the easiest target that they can find. Don’t offer them assistance by:

• Leaving any window open. Some people do this for ventilation forgetting that burglars will take advantage of the smallest opening

• Leaving external doors unlocked

• Leaving a key on a string, under a doormat, or in some other ‘good hiding place’ outside

• Failing to secure side doors, allowing entry to the back of the premises, which is more vulnerable to attack

• Failing to keep garages and sheds locked. Not only do they contain valuable property, but also tools which may help the burglar gain access to your home

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