>Mark your belongings with your postcode

Marking your belongings may put burglars off as it will make the belongings harder to sell, and can help the police investigate crimes and prosecute criminals.

You can replace some items easily, but marking your property can also help the police to return irreplaceable items if they are found. Items should be visibly and permanently marked showing your postcode and the number of your house or flat or the first two letters of its name.

Only use an ultraviolet marker pen when other methods would reduce the value of the object, because the mark isn’t visible and so might not put burglars off or make it more difficult for them to sell the marked item. The marks can also fade.

Take pictures of all valuables like jewellery and silverware and write down the makes, models and serial numbers of your TV, video, DVD, stereo or CD player, home computer, camera equipment and so on. This will help the police identify them if they are stolen. You may want to consider keeping valuable items, such as jewellery, in a safe.

Ask your local police station for advice on how to get stickers to display in the front and back windows of your home to show that you have marked your belongings.

For more advice on marking your property see our ‘Coded for keeps’ leaflet.

New belongings

Don’t leave empty boxes outside your home – they can give away details of new and valuable equipment, which may be attractive to burglars.

Don’t buy crime

Never buy property that you think might be stolen, no matter how tempting the bargain.

• You will be dealing in someone else’s misery.

• The money you pay is likely to be used to buy drugs.

• It’s a crime, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.