A CRIME prevention campaign has been launched to make homes safer as new figures reveal burglaries rise by 13per cent during winter.

Essex Police is launching its Secure, Protect, Prevent campaign today with a range of crime prevention advice.

Surveys, videos and interactive imagery are hoped to prompt people into thinking about small steps they can take to better secure their homes and possessions.

The campaign is timed to coincide with clocks going back at 2am on Sunday, October 29 and darker mornings and evenings quickly approaching.

On Saturday, officers will start door-to-door work across Essex where officers, local authority partners and volunteers will approach residents to give advice on home security.

Chief Superintendent Ewen Wilson said: “Burglary increases as the days get shorter.

“There are simple tips to deter burglars and I need people to carry out basic security checks on their homes and encourage others to do the same."

Essex Police tips include:

  • Fit window locks to all easy to reach windows.
  • Remember to remove keys from locks and store them somewhere out of sight.
  • If your door doesn’t have a window to help you check who’s at the door, fit a door viewer and chain.
  • Strengthen wooden doors by fitting a steel strip and plates to the door frame and around the lock. 
  • Never hang a spare key inside the letterbox – it’s an obvious place that a thief will check.
  • Keep your doors locked even when you are at home. 
  • Lock sheds, install mains or battery powered alarms and invest in some lights to illuminate that part of the garden.
  • Install a dusk to dawn light switch that comes on only when it gets dark and a timer for a lamp, radio or TV to give the impression that someone's at home.
  • Keep your valuables out of sight.
  • Lay gravel on paths and beneath doors and ground-floor windows - burglars don't like it because it's noisy to walk on.

For a full list of tips visit essex.police.uk/secure