by James Wickes

be safe, be secure

If you own a ground floor flat, writes James Wickes of Jabbakam, you are probably a lot more security conscious than if you live in a property on the top floor. It is an obvious thing to say, but if someone breaks into the building your flat is likely to be the first place a burglar will visit.

s a ground-floor flat owner, obviously you are

aphysically closer to the street and this makes you more of a target, therefore you need to think carefully about making your property secure. If this is the case, you should consider the following: • Do you have your own door or is it shared with other people in the building? If it is the latter make sure you are on good terms with them. • What are your neighbours like? • Are they trustworthy? • Remember anyone your neighbours let in is only a kick of a door away from being inside your property.

If you are looking to buy or rent a ground floor flat then take a good look around the communal areas. If they are tidy, clean and well organised you are living with people who care about their surroundings and that should extend to security issues too. If they are dirty or unkempt that might mean they take security less seriously.

take a Lead

If you happen to live in a ground floor flat, then most likely your door will be nearest to the main door. If so, you may need to take a lead in security issues. Take a good look at the shared door. Is it heavy and strong or could someone break in. Has it got locks? How many? Are they good quality locks? Also ask yourself would it be easy for someone to smash the glass and break into the house? If you have any concerns about these issues you should get them addressed as soon as possible – you will need to take the lead on these issues and gather support from your fellow leaseholders in the building.

Insist that good quality locks are fitted throughout the building. Once you have secured the shared areas you need to take a long look at your own security. Again what is your door like? Is it strong? Could it withstand a push or two? Remember if someone is already in the building they might not be so worried about making a noise breaking your door down. Again, ensure you have powerful locks.

On a ground floor flat windows are also a potential problem. An awful lot of opportunistic burglars are most successful at grabbing items through windows that are accessible from the street. First, make sure you have secure window locks at the front. If you do keep the windows open, make sure that someone can’t get into your flat from the street. Also don’t leave anything of value such as computers and mobile phones near the window. If you are concerned about your security, or if there has been a lot of crime in your area, you might want to think about putting bars across the windows. Also if you can get away without opening the front windows, and you can air your room using windows elsewhere in the room, why not just leave them permanently locked?

Finally, always make sure you close windows when you leave your home. It is so easy to forget to do this and so tempting for any opportunistic burglar. Consider a burglar alarm (or at least a fake box) as once again this will put off casual criminals who are the most likely to target your home. Make sure you have strong powerful lighting that switches on automatically when someone approaches. This might be enough to put off all but the most determined criminals.

AN ONLINE SECURITY SOLUTION

Your best option, if you live in a block of flats is to consider a shared security solution in which everyone in the building has a stake. One really great way to address this is by using a system such as Jabbakam’s online security camera network. A group of people in flats can come together and set up this system, sharing access to footage from communal cameras, yet maintaining sole access to the cameras protecting their own property. If Jabbakam is shared among a group of flat owners, a Jabbakam system can be cost effective. For more details click on www.jabbakam.com.

to win a Jabbakam online security solution for your block worth up to £1,000 please see page 46.