some security tips
Burglary - in the event that you ever suffer the misfortune of a burglary at your home or place of business, there is much you are able to do to assist the Police in their efforts to track down the offender/s.
Here are some tips that will make the Police's job a lot easier and could make the difference between you being able to recover some of your precious belongings or not.
Preserve the Scene - this is essentially Police language for leaving everything (or as much as possible) as it was when you discovered the Burglary or Theft. This would include; Point of Entry & Point of Exit (more Police words for where the burglar entered and exited your property) down to the actual places within your building where items have been removed from or the Burglar has visited.
Fingerprints
- Despite what you possibly see on television programs, not all criminals wear gloves when they are carrying out a crime.
- Fingerprints can be successfully 'lifted' from a variety of surfaces by the trained staff belonging to the Police's 'Scene of Crime' division. If you need to touch or move articles that may have been handled by the offender to try and preserve them from rain or other influences, ensure that your own contact with the article's surface is as minimal as possible. Try and use a tool (perhaps a piece of wood or even kitchen tongs) to pick the article up and move it to a secure position.
- Articles that possibly hold fingerprints should be treated with the greatest of care and left well alone if at all possible.
Footprints
Where an offender has left a muddy footprint somewhere on your property, you can preserve the imprint by placing something like a cardboard box over the top until the Police have a chance to examine it properly. Successful prosecutions have been achieved over the years where the most damming evidence against the offender has been the fact that his shoes perfectly match the tread marks found at the scene of a crime.
Bloodstains
It is not uncommon for Burglars or other Offenders to cut or otherwise injure themselves during the commission of a crime. If you should discover bloodstains on your property that might belong to an offender, do not clean or wipe up the stain, again preserve it for the Police. DNA has become a very powerful weapon in identifying criminals.
DNA
Speaking of DNA, I recently read an article from an English newspaper where a criminal had been identified through DNA located on an apple core that he had eaten and discarded at the scene of a very serious crime. Evidently there was enough saliva left on the apple for the scientists to make a perfect match with previous DNA samples taken from this guy.
If you notice that there is discarded food or drink left at the scene of a crime, also ensure that it is 'preserved' i.e. not thrown away or destroyed and immediately bring it to the Police's attention once they arrive to investigate.
Make a List
Make a list as soon as you have got your head around what has happened to you and taken steps to preserve your property and any evidence, take a few minutes to start drafting a list of what has been stolen. Include on the list any distinguishing features or marks that the property might have on them (serial numbers are an excellent identifier) and have this ready to hand over to the Police once they start their investigation.
The sooner the descriptions of your stolen property are in circulation, the better your chances of having it recovered and returned to you.
These are just a few tips that might be of assistance to you if you ever have the experience of being targeted by some lowlife criminal. If you have any security concerns please feel free to contact Insite Security on 09-425-7113. (We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). You can also ask a security expert from this website.
