• A diary left open by the phone on the kitchen window sill showing “Tuesday 18th, 12pm Lovelocks – shampoo & set, 1.15 Bistro Mignonette – lunch Daphne” means you’ll be out for three hours at least.
• An envelope from the bank alongside addressed to Miss Penelope Ashling gives away two snippets of information – a single woman about and a possible cheque book.
• Gardens don’t give much away, but washing lines do. A pair of single sheets, a flowery apron, bras, panties and blouses all left out in the sunshine are more than a thrill for a peeping tom. Nip down to the charity shop for a man’s shirts and pyjamas – and laugh off any jokes about hidden toy boys.
• If your main doors have glass panels, make sure they are frosted or – back to Oxfam – hang up a bomber jacket and football scarf in line of sight.

Opportunists

It's no good good having a chain if it isn't used

• Nobody wants to live in a fortress but a few simple precautions are wise. Do hide your bag every time you come in – in a kitchen cupboard, under the stairs, behind coats on their pegs. Think about installing a permanent decoy. If some opportunist sneaks in, offer deceptively easy pickings which might stop them going further. Keep an old handbag on a kitchen chair with a fiver and a few coins in a purse, some useless keys, a till receipt, a couple of harmless letters and a makeup pouch. Buy a cheap radio at a boot sale and leave it on a shelf.  
• Less than 25 per cent of break-ins result in arrest and conviction, and in some areas only 9 per cent. Much of thieves’ stolen goods swiftly change hands in pubs, clubs, car parks, boot sales, markets, auctions and newspaper small ads. Because legitimate trading does go on in all these places, it makes it even harder for the police to track down stolen goods. Adding insult to theft, most stolen items fetch a fraction of their value. But, as the police point out: “£25 for a £200 television is 25 quid more than the villain had before”.
• Twenty-five per cent of recorded crime concerns cars. Don’t ever leave keys in the ignition even while loading up shopping, paying at the petrol station or looking for a parking meter.

Keep a record

• Take snapshots of all valuables, not just jewellery. Give scale to items by placing a ruler or matchbox alongside. Label and print out the pictures and keep in a file.
• Photocopy relevant pages of passports, car licences, credit and charge cards for this file.
• Make a note of identifying numbers on portable equipment such as computers, televisions, radios and cameras, even bulky fridges and washing machines. Some thieves arrive by truck intent on clearing out a house and then have been known to return to nick the replacements weeks later.

If in doubt, keep them out

Disguise a home safe with a book cover and keep it on a shelf with others

• Everyone, but particularly people living alone and wishing to sleep in peace, should install a smoke alarm, preferably several. They are not an option, they are literally life-savers, as are fire blankets and extinguishers.
• Every outside door should have a deadlock and safety chain. If no window overlooks the access, particularly in flats, install a ‘keyhole eye’ to check on visitors.
• Ask unexpected callers for identification, or ask them for a phone number so that you can quickly check whether they are genuine. Gas, electricity and water company officials usually have identifiable vans and uniforms. Some companies now issue user passwords and many will inform residents by post if they are going to be working in the area.  
• If your house is on the market, refuse to show prospective buyers round yourself. Insist your estate agent accompanies viewings and don’t hand out sets of keys ad lib.

It’s not worth risking injury for your handbag, but if you’re alone and attacked, set off your personal alarm if you have one, shout and scream. The Home Office states:  “You have every right to defend yourself with items you have with you – an umbrella, hairspray or keys... but the law doesn’t allow carrying an offensive weapon.”