We often open ourselves up to the risk of property theft, by extending or changing the use, of things that belong to us. To give an example of this, I recently had to rationalize the use of a bag that I use to transport my laptop in; the bags original use was simply to house my laptop, but over the course of many months, it started to fulfil the role of a storage container, housing many valuable items, which would have been difficult for me to replace, had the bag been stolen. Also, because the bag had started to become heavier due to all these items – which I rarely, if ever used on a daily basis – I had started to leave the bag in my car whereas before I would take it with me etc. Although it is easy to give yourself a break from staying safe, and personal safety, because the last time you did or didn’t do something nothing happened e.g. my car wasn’t broken in to, it is worth noting that criminals operate on a 24x7 basis, and don’t take a moment off from their activities. If anyone had broken in to my car to steal my bag they would have ended up with a lot more than just my laptop – some of which would have been a nightmare for me, from an identity theft perspective. My laptop case had changed from a means of transportation to one of storage.  

A good example of the constant observational activities and the change of use of something, concerns burglars and garages. A garage that is attached or next to a residential house, is designed to a house a car; although it can be used to store garden furniture, kids toys, and boxes of old books etc. this is not what it was designed for. By filling your garage with boxes and the like, you will be unable to park your car in it. This may not seem much of an issue, if the climate is good, and/or you have a gated driveway etc. however having to park your car on your driveway, let’s people know both when you are at home, and when you are out. Signs of occupancy are the biggest deterrent to burglars, who want to break in to your house when nobody is around. If a burglar notes the times when your car is and isn’t in the driveway, they will know when your house is vacant. If your car is hidden/parked in your garage and is never sitting out on display, or drawing attention by its absence then no signals regarding when your house may be vacant or not are transmitted. Changing the use of your garage to a storage facility, can create a vulnerability that a threat can exploit.

Cars themselves can unintentionally become storage facilities, with valuable items, such as laptops etc. being left in them overnight, rather than being moved into a more secure location such as your house – this may be especially true if you are returning home late at night, have additional bags to carry in, and/or have to manage small children etc. Work laptops often get left in cars overnight on evenings when it’s apparent they’re not going to be used i.e. what’s the point of taking a laptop into your house, only for you to return it to the car, unused, in the morning. The problem is that cars are not secure in the same way that your house is, and are much easier to break into. Cars, can often become storage facilities if they are used to transport equipment as part of your job e.g. film, music equipment etc. can be both expensive and bulky, and up getting stored in a car between jobs rather than being emptied out at the end of the day. The hassle of moving equipment between your car, your house, and your place of work, may seem a hassle you don’t need, especially early in the morning and late at night, but it’s an effort that is worth taking, when you consider the time and cost of replacing equipment, as well as a potential rise in insurance premiums.

A friend of mine at University, at the end of a semester, decided that he would pack his car in the evening with everything he had, in order to avoid having to do this in the early morning, when he was planning to leave. As a time saving measure, this made a lot of sense, however as we were living in the North East of England, which has some of the highest rates of car crime in Europe, it was perhaps not the safest thing to do. Needless to say his car was broken into overnight, and every electrical good he owned along with his CD collection – which although monetarily may have been worth a lot was from my own musical preference and perspective, worthless – were stolen. The time he took in calling the police, and making a statement lost him all the time he’d hoped to gain from packing the car the evening before. A packed car, means that items are on display, whether you want them to be or not, and indicates that there well might be valuable things that are out of site. As it was a university town, I’m sure many criminals were aware of students packing up their cars at the end of term, and possibly leaving them unattended either overnight or for an extended period of time. Just as there are criminals who watch our driveways in order to keep track of our movements, there are those that know the lifecycles of the towns, and districts in which they operate.

From a personal safety perspective bags and cars should be used to transport items, not to store them. It is worth taking time to clear them out on a regular basis, as well as to take an inventory of them, so that if they do get stolen, you know what is lost. Many people could not tell you the actual active credit/debit cards they have in their wallet/purse, making it difficult for them to report what is stolen should they be robbed/mugged. Garages, should be used as garages, and also made secure, especially if they adjoin a house, where there is the possibility of entry through the garage. Using things as they are intended is good from a personal safety/self-protection perspective.