MEDIA RELEASE
RAC is urging Western Australians to take extra security precautions this Christmas school holidays, with an average of 12 home burglaries per day during the same holiday period last year.
RAC Insurance Home Claims Manager, Glen Walker, said that from the 16th of December 2016 to the 31st of January 2017, RAC received a total of 506 burglary claims.
“We definitely see a spike in home burglaries at this time of the year, with last year’s Christmas holiday claims averaging more than $2 million dollars worth of stolen items,” said Mr Walker.
“Our advice to Western Australians is to always ensure your home doesn’t look vacant when you go away on holidays.
“Ask family and friends to housesit and water your plants, and ask neighbours to put out the rubbish bins and collect the mail. This all helps to make your home look occupied and maintained.
“It’s also important to always lock up your house, even when you’re home, as we see a spike in home burglaries during the warmer months of the year in general.”
“We received 13 per cent more home burglary claims last December and January, compared to the rest of the year.
“Be aware that opportunistic thieves are on the look-out for easy targets, so ensure your exterior sensor lights are switched on and any high-value goods are not visible through windows.
“If possible, install a home alarm system and use the window stickers that come with it to warn potential thieves there is an alarm in place.
“We’ve recently seen an increase in installations of our security CCTV systems, which is a good sign people are making an effort to protect their homes. Home CCTV systems are becoming more popular, given they are an additional deterrent for would-be burglars.
“The more you do to secure your home, the less likely it is to be targeted for both spontaneous and planned burglaries.”
Back to Media Centre
