1) Lighting — Lights or lamps on timers can convince any burglar someone is home. Having lights switch themselves on in areas of the house such as: Bedrooms, kitchen, living room and bathrooms can give the burglar a reaction that the house is occupied.

2) Internal sounds — Plug in timers for the radio can make it sound like someone is home, radio stations with a lot of talking rather than music can be quite useful as it sounds like general conversation is taking place.

3) Curtains — Curtains closed indicates the house is occupied. If you are away on a short or long break, why not give a trusty neighbour a key to open and close the curtains for you, you can then return the favour for them in their absence.

4) Locks — Most household insurance companies require a certain level of security on your home, many insist on having things such as five—lever mortise locks on the front and back door. Securing windows, doors, patio doors and French windows can only be viewed as beneficial in protecting the home.

5) Safes — Hiding belongings may seem extreme and a bit of an inconvenience, however having small safes around your home protecting things such as: Jewellery, important documents, car keys and money, can further protect your home.

6 ) CCTV — CCTV is becoming more and more used by home owners as the cost of fitting the equipment is decreasing. Make the system obvious to criminals by using warning signs and logos around the property. That way any crime being planned or taking place will be recorded and criminals should think twice before attempting to burgle your home.

7) Be Wary Of 'Doorstep Crooks' — Criminals can try and enter under false pretences pretending to be salesmen or meter readers. Then once they enter and are left unattended for a short period of time they can pick items laying around up and steel them. Elderly people, females, people targeted after bereavement and people living alone are the most frequent victims in these cases.

8) Come Together With The Neighbours — Join forces with the neighbours and create schemes such as 'neighbourhood watch' to protect your area. Little stickers in the window with logos such as 'home watch' or 'prevent crime' or even 'no cold callers' can make your house look like a SAFE home and deter criminals.

9) Alarms — A loud alarm system can scare a criminal off as he wants to be silent and not seen when committing the crime. An alarm system attracts attention to your house and alerts neighbours and passersby and most importantly scare away the criminal.

10) Ultraviolet Marking — Ultraviolet marking your contents / possessions with your house number and postcode can be very efficient in locating a home owner if possessions are stolen. The Ultraviolet pen isn't visible in normal light and can sometimes become very useful if items are found or confiscated.