Thieves find identifiable property dangerous to handle and difficult to sell on. As a result you can put them off by marking your property and advertising that you have done so by displaying a Burglars Beware sticker on your house.

 

An ultra-violet (UV) pen can put an invisible mark on your property which can only be seen using a UV light. The mark can fade in time, especially when exposed to sunlight so you need to renew it regularly say once a year). Your postcode plus your house or flat number (or the first two letters of your house name) provides a simple and unique way of identifying your property.

 

Marking things like jewellery or antiques is difficult and could reduce their value. You can still protect items that can’t be marked by keeping a record of them. A simple way is to photograph each item, in colour, paying special attention to any distinguishing marks which you can use to identify them. Take a photograph against a plain background and include a ruler to give an indication of size.

 

Use a record form as suggested below to keep a list of the items you have marked or photographed together with a note of where the mark is. Keep your list and photographs safe at all times. Consider giving a copy to someone you trust for them to look after.

 

Coded for Keeps

 

Your possessions may mean a lot to you but to a thief they are just a way of making money.

 

If stolen you may be able to replace your TV, etc. but do you own things that would be impossible to replace or have a sentimental value to you?

 

The best thing to do is to protect your home against thieves but if someone did get in and steal things, could you describe what you have lost fully and accurately to the police?  It’s not as easy as it sounds when all you have is your memory to go on.

 

Every year property is recovered by the police and not returned to its rightful owner simply because it can’t be properly identified.

This suggested record form may be copied to Word or Publisher and printed:

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