We have recently received reports of burglaries where houses have been targeted for high value gold jewellery. Often, the gold is melted for cash or sold on. The impact on victims in this type of burglary is considerable, particularly when the items stolen are inherited or of sentimental value.

Avoid giving burglars this opportunity by following some simple crime prevention tips:

- Please don’t keep highly valuable jewellery at home – use a bank safety deposit box.

- If you have to keep your jewellery at home, then please invest in a home safe suitable for protecting your jewellery. Your insurance company will provide advice as to which type and grade of safe best suits your needs.

- Keep an inventory of your jewellery. This can be done in a paper version or online with companies such as Immobilise – for more information go to www.immobilise.com. Don’t forget to include identifying marks, value and purchase date.

- Photograph your jewellery. Place your jewellery against a plain background with a ruler next to it to give an idea of size.

- Check your home insurance to ensure that it covers keeping high value jewellery at home.

- Make sure your home is kept secure at all times – windows/door locks, timers that switch lights on when going out.

- Set your house alarm if you have one.

- As with other valuables, do not leave your jewellery on display.

- Use forensic marking to identify your jewellery. Information on forensic marking can be found here https://www.securedbydesign.com/property-marking