Safety

As school holidays and Christmas approach, a lot of our families and neighbours will be preparing to travel to visit family and friends and enjoy the summer sunshine.

The Queensland Police Service advises that empty homes can be targets for intruders as they have less chance of being disturbed and intrusion can go undetected for days or even weeks.

Follow these tips to help keep your home, street and neighbourhood safe over the holiday break:

• Triple check all your doors and windows are securely locked before leaving 
• Arrange for a friend or neighbour to collect your mail and mow the lawn (if required)
• Cancel any regular deliveries like newspapers or food delivery services 
• Secure your bin with a chain and padlock so that it can’t be moved to easily access windows
• Secure any vehicles that are being left at home
• Lock away tools and ladders or secure them to ensure they can’t be used to break in

For more information on protecting your home while you’re away, visit the Queensland Police website and look for Home Security under the Community Safety and Crime Prevention program. If you’re taking your holidays here at home, help keep your neighbours and the community safe by reporting any suspicious behaviour to local police at Springfield on 3814 8999 or Policelink 131 444 (for non-urgent crimes in progressing or reporting as the victim of a crime). You can also report suspicious activity around our schools to SchoolWatch on 13 17 88.