Make sure you're secure! (From Gazette Series)

Make sure you're secure!

POLICE are warning householders and businesses to secure their premises properly after it emerged almost a third of burglaries over the Christmas period were walk-in thefts.

Officers in the Cotswolds and Stroud division say they received reports of 46 walk-in thefts between Monday December 8 and Sunday January 4, a total of 32 per cent of all burglaries. They included five in the Dursley inspector neighbourhood .

The thefts have accounted for thousands of pounds worth of property including computers, mobile phones, cash, televisions, and jewellery.

Crime reduction officer PC Cindy Pickersgill said that both commercial and domestic properties had been hit.

"If windows and doors are left unlocked in homes while people are in the garden or elsewhere in the house then the sneak thief is left with a golden opportunity to snatch property," she said.

"We would urge all home owners to lock external doors and windows, in any rooms left unoccupied, especially if they are planning to spend time outside.

"Taking the time to lock doors and windows is a small price to pay for preventing their homes from being burgled."

Businesses could also take steps to reduce their chances of becoming the victims of walk-in thefts.

PC Pickersgill said: "We would urge business to make sure all access points to private areas are kept secure and make certain that members of the public can only get onto their property via a single monitored entry point."