'Handing out' advice to beat the burglars

A VERY "handy" campaign has been launched in Swansea to help stop burglars in their tracks.

The Safer Swansea Partnership was yesterday issuing a warning to student residents in Brynmill whose houses are left as a target to thieves.

Crime prevention officers from Swansea police and the local authority were yesterday visiting properties in the area and looking out for signs of poor security.

And hand-shaped warning leaflets were delivered to every house they found which had bad security.

Those included windows left open, ladders or bins left in gardens which could be used to access an upstairs window, and even poorly tended gardens which could give burglars cover before they strike.

Swansea Council's crime prevention officer Paul Evans said: "Student accommodation is often targeted by burglars as they know there will be more high value items to be stolen, such as lap-tops and MP3 players. They also know there is a high possibility that no one has taken responsibility for ensuring the multi-occupancy home is secured.

"We have been out and about in Brynmill delivering crime prevention information and speaking to students to encourage them to secure their property to avoid becoming victims.

"By remembering to do the simple things, like locking their entrance doors and room doors, keeping valuables hidden away, they could save themselves a whole lot of heartache."

The patrol was carried out as part of Safer Swansea's Safe as Houses campaign, an on-going crime prevention project aimed at encouraging people to make their property more secure and raising awareness of the things people can do to keep their homes, property and themselves safe.

Police crime prevention officer Kevin Evans said: "It is a fact that around a quarter of all burglaries in Swansea are a result of unsecured premises.

"Burglary is a despicable crime that can have a really strong impact on the victims.

"Often reported is a loss of privacy and feeling unsafe in somewhere a person used to feel at their safest.

"That is why we are carrying out this work so that people in Swansea continue to feel safe in their homes."

For full advice on how to keep your house secure, see www.saferswansea.org.uk