Top tips from Yale for home security for students

When compared to other groups, students are at a higher risk of burglary thanks to a number of factors; students are often residents in houses with sub-standard security measures, and are frequently new to the areas that they are living in. These factors can often mean that students are at a higher risk of burglary than other groups.

To help reduce the risk of break-ins at your new student home, security experts at Yale have put together some of their top tips to help secure your space.

Lock up tight

Locking your doors may sound like an obvious tip, but it’s one of the easiest and most effective steps to reduce the risk of burglaries. Experienced thieves will often check to see if doors are unlocked in student areas in the knowledge that many will be left unlocked, even if people are at home. It’s good practice to lock your door as soon as you walk in – and a great habit to pass onto your housemates too.

Out of sight, out of mind

Student life can be busy, but one thing you should always do is keep any valuables out of sight. Whether it’s a laptop or tablet, or some jewellery or a nice watch, always try and move any valuable items into areas that can’t be seen from outside to help avoid any unwanted guest; additionally, if you have the space in your room, it’s a smart move to invest in a small safe, such as Yale’s Value Laptop Safe, which can keep your most prized possessions safe even when you’re not using them

Keep an eye on what matters

Whilst you can take a lot of measures to secure your new home when you’re there, it’s also important to make sure that your new space is safe whilst you’re away. A visible CCTV system is one of the best deterrents to burglars*, but they’re often seen as hard to install and quite expensive.

This isn’t always the case however, with products such as the Yale All-In-One Outdoor Camera providing a cost-effective and easy to install system that can provide you with peace-of-mind, whether you’re at home, in lectures or out and about. Cameras such as these are perfect for keeping an eye on your home as a student; they feature live-streamed video to your phone with instant alerts whenever motion is detected, meaning that you’ll always be aware of anyone who is around your home. Then, when your studies are over, you’ll be able to easily remove the camera and take it with you for your next year, either at home or back in your new student pad. You can also consider setting up a small indoor camera, such as Yale’s 1080p Wi-Fi Camera that will allow you to watch the inside of your student home or room from anywhere too.

Think outside the box

At the start of a new academic year, you’ll probably have loads of new goodies to unbox and set up before you get studying. However, a bin full of laptop boxes and gadget packaging is a clear signal to burglars that there are expensive goodies contained within. Instead, leave the boxes with mum and dad before you leave for uni.

Security outside your student home

As well as all the security measures you take to lock down the inside of your home, it’s important to remember to lock things up when you’re out. For those trips to university with your laptop, consider investing in a small padlock, such as Yale’s new range of high-security padlocks, that will help keep your laptop bag or rucksack locked tight – and can also double as a good way to secure your locker on campus or at the gym.

Another security measure that’s good to invest in is a high-security bike lock for your trips out and about. Look for bike locks such as Yale’s new range of Cable & U-Locks, to help keep your wheels where you left them.