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• A complete and updated inventory of valuable items (TV, VCR, camera, jewelry etc.) should be maintained. The inventory should contain make, model no., serial/body no., name, description and weight (in case of jewelry), peculiar marks of identification etc. This information will help the police in identifying the property as also to prove that it belongs to you. It also helps in making insurance claim. The inventory list should be kept in fireproof safe or a copy of it should be kept with a friend/relative. It may be a good idea to divide the Inventory list into 3-4 lists so that if a list falls in wrong hands, it does not reveal your real worth. • It is desirable that costly equipment vulnerable to theft should be etched with your name and an Ownership Number. This makes it easy for you to identify your items if they are traced and it makes difficult for a criminal to sell the stolen items. • Keep only that much of jewelry at home as is required for daily use or use in the near future. Avoid keeping jewelry at home unnecessarily. • Do not leave your jewelry, wristwatch, costly cuff links and pens etc. lying around all over the place as a matter of habit if there are servants at home. It can turn the mind of an otherwise honest servant if opportunities galore and there is an atmosphere of unaccountability. • Have a secret closet in one or more cupboards for storing cash, jewelry and other valuables to save them from the eyes of the criminals in case they ransack the house. Secret closets are made by keeping the length of a drawer short and fixing a flappable shutter at the space left behind the short drawer for storage of valuables. There are chances that a criminal breaking open the cupboard may not notice that one of the drawers is shorter and that there is a closet behind. Cavities in the wall, false/hollow partitions are some other relatively safe places. • Last but not the least, household insurance can go a long way to compensate you in case there is loss/theft of property. The household insurance policy can also cover loss of insured or even uninsured property to a limited extent while in transit. |
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