Securing property deters thieves

We at Police Scotland again wish you all the best and hope that you have enjoyed 2023 and what it has brought so far.

This week we are offering advice on securing your property.

First, here are some tips regarding protecting your home:

■ Keep your home securely locked at all times.

■ Don’t leave keys on the inside of door locks, under mats or anywhere else an intruder may easily find them.

■ Avoid keeping large amounts of cash in the house.

■ Don’t leave valuables in sight of windows.

And we also have some advice for your garden:

■ Keep hedges, walls and fences low at the front of the property.

■ Security lighting around your property will act as a deterrent.

■ Fit a good quality hasp and padlock to the door of your shed/garage.

■ Lock away any garden implements, furniture or tools.

Meanwhile, this week local community officers were on proactive patrol covering Hilhouse as there had been numerous reports of a vehicle behaving suspiciously. Whilst patrolling the area officers had cause to stop a vehicle with one male occupant. This male was allegedly found to be in the area with the intention to commit thefts and was subsequently arrested for theft and road traffic offences.

Officers also responded to a number of reports of persons smashing windows at a property in Hamilton. On attendance police stopped a vehicle with three males on board. These males were allegedly found in the possession of weapons and drugs and were arrested to appear from custody, and the driver also was charged with numerous Road Traffic offences.

If you have any relevant information or matters you feel should be reported to the police, you can do so by calling 101 or via Crimestoppers, free and anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For any additional advice please visit www.scotland.police.uk

The non-emergency number for police is 101 and you can dial 999 in an emergency.

You can follow us on Facebook at ‘Lanarkshire police division’ and on Twitter @Lanarkshire_pol