Police Plea To Reduce Opportunist Burglaries

Police in Wrexham have made a plea for people to keep their house keys well out of sight.

They said that thieves have been taking advantage of householders who leave their keys in the lock, particularly back door keys.

Wrexham Rural Inspector, Paul Jones said: “We are urging people not only to lock their back doors, but also to put the keys out of sight.

“Of course, residents need to be able to locate the keys quickly if they have to leave in an emergency.”

In another move to combat domestic burglaries Wrexham police will also be giving away shed alarms.

Inspector Jones added: “We have acquired a quantity of shed alarms which we will be distributing to those addresses we feel are most at risk of being targeted by thieves.”

North Wales Police have issued the following advice to avoid burglaries:

• Always lock all your doors and windows.

• Never leave keys in hiding places such as under flower-pots or on top of door-frames. Burglars know where to look.

• Where possible fit an alarm and security lighting.

• If you are going away on holiday or for any length of time, use timers on your lights. Also, cancel your milk for the duration of your absence and ask a friend or neighbour to collect your post so it doesn’t build up on your doormat.

• Don’t leave expensive items on windowsills where they could be seen from the street.

• Property mark your valuables. You can use a UV pen or etching tool to mark property with your house number and postcode. This will make it easy to identify and will act as a huge deterrent to thieves.