I believe it’s really important that people feel safe in their home and our local community.

I feel very lucky never to have had my home burgled but, as a local resident, I am always concerned about the reports of distraction burglaries in our area and the effect it has on the people involved, who are often the most vulnerable in our community. The Police’s advice is clear – do not buy or sell from people who knock on your door and never let them in your house.

When someone calls at your door and offers to do repairs to your home or to ask for urgent help, follow these simple steps to help protect yourself and your home from bogus callers:

1. LOCK: Keep your front and back doors locked, even when at home.
2. STOP: Before you answer, stop and think if you are expecting anyone. Check that you have locked any back doors and taken the key out. Look through the spy hole or the window to see who it is.
3. CHAIN: If you decide to open the door, put the door chain or bar on first. Keep the bar or chain on while you are talking to the person on the doorstep.
4. CHECK: If someone who looks official calls at your door, always do the following. Ask for, and carefully check, their identity card, even if they have a pre-arranged appointment (all genuine callers will carry one).

You can also help by ensuring you report anything suspicious to the Police. Even if action cannot be taken on this occasion, the Police use these reports to decide where to allocate officers in the future.

Finally, I’d like to hear from you on how you feel about crime around you at my online crime survey: readinglibdems.org.uk/crime – it only takes 5 minutes. This way I get a much better picture of the reality of the problems in the area, and me and my team will then push for solutions.

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