Home safety

Home security

House break-ins are crimes of opportunity and, in most cases, entry is gained through an open or unlocked door or window. Take the following precautions to keep your home secure.

• Get to know your neighbours. Observant neighbours can reduce prowling, loitering and burglary by reporting suspicious people or vehicles to police
• Join your local Neighbourhood Watch group
• Keep doors and windows secured even when you are at home
• Secure your home when you leave by locking all doors and windows
• Remove keys from internal doors and windows when you are not at home
• Fix faulty alarms immediately and tell your neighbours that it's been repaired. Many people ignore an alarm that goes off regularly
• Leave a light on and the radio playing when you are out to give your home the 'lived in' look
• Keep cash, keys and valuables out of sight and out of easy reach
• Don't leave notes on the door—it suggests that no one is home
• Don't leave a house key under the door mat or a pot plant, in the letterbox or in other obvious places
• Mark valuable property using the Property Identification System.

Neighbourhood Watch

Neighbourhood Watch encourages people in Queensland communities to work together to improve home security, reduce fear of crime and report suspicious activity to the police.

Read more about Neighbourhood Watch or start a group in your community.

Internet safety

E-Crime

E-Crime is a criminal offence where computers, the internet or other electronic devices are used.

Common E-Crimes include credit card fraud and computer hacking.

To protect yourself and your family from E-Crime:

• Keep equipment and storage devices physically secure
• Don't share identification numbers and passwords
• Change passwords on a regular basis
• Don't give personal information to anyone without checking their credentials
• Install a firewall
• Install virus protection software and keep it up to date
• Always check bank account transactions and balances, and report discrepancies to your bank
• Avoid opening unsolicited emails (delete them and do not respond)
• Keep any original offensive/menacing/harassing emails
• When buying things through online auction sites, consider using a third party to hold payment in trust until you receive the item
• Store personal information such as passwords on a separate storage device rather than on the computer hard drive

Learn more about the causes and risks of E-Crime.

Internet and kids

The internet is both a terrific resource and a potential risk for kids.

The rules you teach your children about meeting new people in the real world also apply when they meet and 'chat' with people online.

Learn about the risks for children online and how to keep your child safe.

Food safety

There are at least 5.4 million cases of gastroenteritis food poisoning caused by contaminated food each year in Australia.

Most food poisoning is preventable by:

• keeping hands and nails clean
• keeping the kitchen clean
• handling food safely with clean equipment
• cooking high-risk foods thoroughly
• keeping hot food hot and cold food cold.

Learn how to keep your food safe.