Don't let your Christmas rubbish be a shopping list for burglars

Each year the presents and new things bought over the Christmas period seem to come with more and more cardboard wrappings inside the festive wrapping paper, as manufacturers attempt to to protect the precious items inside.

The temptation of householders, with their homes already bursting at the seams, is to put the cardboard cases outside by the rubbish bin, waiting for the refuse collectors to take it all away in a few days time.

But what better way to advertise to burglars just what new things you got for Christmas in your house.

Empty cardboard wrappings, boldly displaying the details of what had been inside, are like a shopping list for burglars.

This year the police are asking householders to make sure they rip up the cardboard covers and take it all down to the recycling centre as soon as they re-open again after Christmas. That way you won’t be advertising to everyone walking past your house that you got a new television, an X-Box, an Ipad or other exciting new equipment, over Christmas.

And before you set off to the recycling centre with all that cardboard, you should also take a few minutes to property mark your new things, and register them on the government backed national property register www.immobilise.com.

If you are unfortunate to be burgled you have a far better chance of getting your things back if you have property marked them using an ultra violet pen, which is invisible to the naked eye, but shines up when a special light is shone onto it. Or you can invest in some property marking solution which contains a unique code to you. Again if you things are stolen, you have a better chance of getting them back if you have property marked them and registered them.

There are a number of security devices and marker systems on the market for helping to personalise and identify property in addition to ultra violet pens including forensic marking* type product to mark property with a special code which is unique to the owner, allowing property to be easily identified but the pens are extremely cheap, very reliable and readily available from police stations or from stationery shops.

*The ACPO Secured By Design www.securedbydesign.com can offer more advice on asset marking & recovery.