Home Safety Tips for Older Adults Living Independently

Introduction

With more than 400,000 burglaries in the UK every year, it is important to keep your home secure. While the number of burglaries in the UK has been declining for several years, it still equates to nearly 50 every hour. Unfortunately, burglars often target older people, seeing them as more vulnerable and forgetful, and therefore easier to target. However, there are ways of fighting back. The best defence is to make your home as secure as possible, so that potential criminals are unable to gain entry. Here are our home safety tips for older adults living independently.

Ensure All Windows and Doors Are Locked

The easiest way for a burglar to gain entry to your home is through unlocked windows and doors. You need to check that all your doors and windows are locked before you go out and before you go to bed. We would go as far as to say you should make sure your front and back doors are locked even when you're occupied in another room or upstairs, since a burglar could sneak in without you realising while you're busy elsewhere. If you're ever in doubt, keep your home secure by locking your windows and doors.

Keep Your Keys Out of Sight

Once you've locked up, you should never leave your keys within sight of windows or doors. If your front door has a letterbox, never leave your keys in the lock, because criminals can use special devices to reach through the letterbox and hook your keys, giving them unrestricted access to your house and car and making you incredibly vulnerable to crime. Instead, keep your keys in a safe place within your home that only you and your loved ones know about, and if you keep them in one place, such as a hook or a bowl, make sure it isn't visible from outside your property. Of course, you still need to make sure everybody in your household knows where to find the house key in case there's a fire.

Lock Your Gates and Maintain Fences

Much like your windows and doors, it's important to keep any access points to your property locked and properly maintained. We suggest adding a high-quality, waterproof padlock to any gates around your home, which will make it harder for potential burglars to gain access to your garden. You should also maintain any fences surrounding your home, since a compromised perimeter leaves your home less secure overall – there isn't much point having a fence if there's a hole in it or it has blown over. After stormy weather or strong wind, we advise checking your fences for damage as soon as possible.

Install a Security Camera

A security camera has many benefits when it comes to keeping your home secure. The sight of a camera will deter many burglars, as it suggests your home is well protected. However, in the unfortunate event that you are a victim of burglary, footage from a CCTV camera can help you get justice. Modern CCTV can include high-definition footage, night vision, and large hard drives to store lots of footage, and you can link your CCTV to your mobile, tablet, or laptop to keep an eye on your home no matter where you are. Smart CCTV systems, such as Hive, will send an alert to your mobile when they detect movement in your home.

Upgrade Your Doors and Windows

If you are concerned about home security, you should also consider adding night latches, door closers, and chains to your doors. You can now also buy smart door locks, which use smartphones, key cards, and tags rather than keys. Additionally, planting thick, prickly hedges or rose bushes below windows can help discourage anyone from trying to climb through, and motion-activated lights outside your home are another effective deterrent for thieves.

Keep Ladders and Tools Locked Away

If you have any tools, ladders, or other objects which could be used to break into your home, it's best to keep them securely locked away. Thieves could use your tools to break in via a door or window, perhaps even an upstairs window with the use of a ladder, which could also allow criminals to climb up and take a good look inside your home to see if there are any valuables. It's also worth locking bikes and toys away in the garage or shed, since a bike could be stolen, while toys and games left out could suggest there are more valuable items inside. For this reason, it's worth adding a high-quality, waterproof padlock to your shed too.

Be Cautious About Answering the Door

If you're not expecting anybody at the door, it's best not to answer it. At the very least, if you are unsure, answer with the chain on. It's all too common for older people to be targeted through door-knocking scams or distraction burglaries, where one person distracts the homeowner at the front door while an accomplice finds another way into the home to steal valuables. The best way to avoid this is to ignore the door and call the police if it becomes a common occurrence. If you do choose to answer, only open the door on the chain, ask for photographic ID to prove the caller is who they claim to be, ask plenty of questions, and don't think twice about saying no and closing the door. It's also worth considering installing a peephole or video doorbell, which lets you see who's knocking without having to open the door at all.

Be Careful on Social Media

Criminals often monitor social media for anything that might give them an opportunity, so you need to be extremely careful not to give personal details away when you post. It's very easy to forget, when uploading an image, that your house is in the background, which could give away your house number or the location of your belongings. Always check your photographs before you upload them, and avoid publishing anything that shows a nice TV, jewellery, or a bank card left on the side. You should also be careful when setting up your personal profile; there's no need to share your street name, and a simple mention of the UK or your city is fine. If you're going on holiday, remember not to mention it across your profiles, since a photo from the airport is basically an announcement that your home will be empty for several days.

Add a Burglar Alarm

The sight of a burglar alarm is a great deterrent to any would-be burglar. If a burglar does enter your home, an alarm makes it less likely they'll hang around to look for valuables. There are several types of burglar alarm to consider. A bells-only alarm makes a loud noise but doesn't contact you or the police. A dialler alarm automatically dials your phone number, or that of a chosen friend or family member, when triggered. A smart system contacts you or your loved ones through a smartphone or tablet app when the alarm goes off. And with a monitoring contract, you pay a monthly or annual fee to a company that will take action or call the police if the alarm is triggered. The best alarm for your home depends on your personal preferences, your budget, where you live, what your home is like, and the level of protection and response you're after.

Don't Hide Spare Keys Outside

If you're hiding your spare keys underneath a plant pot or doormat, now is the time to stop. Criminals are well aware of these hiding spots and will try their luck to see if you've left keys anywhere within reach. Instead, make sure all your family members have their own key, or consider adding a keysafe to your home. A keysafe is a secure metal box that allows you to lock your keys away behind a combination code, which you can then share with a select few trusted loved ones.

Concerned About Your Safety at Home?

Our life-saving personal alarms can offer peace of mind to anyone concerned about their safety at home. For more information, please speak to one of our friendly advisors on 0800 101 3333. Alternatively, you can get a personalised alarm plan here on our site.