Though rare, home invasions unfortunately do happen from time to time. A recent incident in Karori occurred when the house occupant opened his front door and three masked people charged in, stole from him, and hurt the man.
There’s no need to be afraid, but there are a few steps you can take to protect yourself. If someone knocks at your door and you are not expecting a visitor, you can always look out of the window to see who it is, or speak through the door and ask who it is. You do not have to open your door. Here are a few tips on how to keep safe:
- Always lock your front door and side gate
- Ensure your garage door is securely locked
- When going out, close all your windows
- Keep your hedges low at the front – burglars/unwanted visitors love an access that is well hidden
- Get spotlights installed which come on when people approach the front of the house
- Don’t leave keys lying around – if someone breaks-in they could grab your keys and drive off in your car (or worse still, they could keep the keys to your house and you would need to get new locks). Hang keys up inside a cupboard, or somewhere out of sight if possible
- Keep valuables out of view of the windows
Although it’s important not to become too frightened about this type of danger, it doesn’t hurt to be aware and as safe as possible.
For more information go to https://www.police.govt.nz/advice/personal-community/keeping-safe/home-safe