Guarding Your Gems and Gadgets

After several burglaries in Stoke Poges and Wexham South Bucks District Council’s Community Safety Team is warning residents to take extra measures to protect their jewellery and laptops.

Of the 28 burglaries to have occurred in Stoke Poges and Wexham between 1st December 2010 and 22nd March 2011, laptops and jewellery were shown to be the most popular stolen items in at least 10 of the offences.

South Bucks District Councillor Anita Cranmer, Portfolio Holder for Community says, “Thieves will always look to steal goods that they believe can be removed and sold-on easily. Your smaller gadgets and valuables are rich pickings for them. If your laptop were stolen imagine how much you will lose in valuable and irreplaceable information. Many of us now use our laptops to store family photos, important documents, banking details, music and various other pieces of personal information. Just think how much time and effort you will spend putting it all back in place. Something to note is that
there are programs available that will report the location of a stolen laptop. When the laptop connects to the Internet they can trace and report the laptop's exact physical location. Computer tracing technology and other computer security measures can be found at www.securebydesign.com

Neighbourhood Inspector Bhupinder Rai says, “There are several preventative measures residents can take to protect their jewellery such as making use of forensic property marking kits like Smartwater or SelectaDNA. Making your items of value unattractive to a burglar is paramount. You could even look to store jewellery in obscure places like the bathroom or the loft.”

“Our SelectaDNA warning signs, posters and labels, telling criminals to stay away, are hugely effective because of the ‘DNA Fear Factor’. Our DNA evidence deters criminals and provides the evidential chain Police Officers require to be more effective in their jobs.”

Forensic marking kits can be purchased online from several companies such as Smartwater or SelectaDNA. Neighbourhood Watch groups can get discounts on bulk purchases for those in their schemes.

Thames Valley Police is always interested in information about criminals so, if you see something suspicious or suspect someone of committing burglary or other crime, please do not hesitate to contact them on 0845 8 505 505. If you have information but don't want to speak to police, please call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.