New online tool seeking to help families improve home security

An increase in break and enters across the country has prompted a warning for people to improve their home security.

A new online tool which allows you to calculate your own security score also gives tips and advice on how to improve your rating and make your home safer.

It's advice one Queensland family wishes they knew earlier after being robbed in broad daylight.

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Two men allegedly broke into Bashdar Hassan's family home, and despite parts of the ordeal being captured on the neighbours CCTV, the alleged thieves remain on the run.

"It's 1.30 in the afternoon, school holidays, we could have been at home," Mr Hassan told A Current Affair.

Less than 30 minutes after the alleged thieves got inside the house, vision captures the aftermath.

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Room after room was turned upside down, belongings had been rummaged through and thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry and were cash stolen.

"We had a lot of gold worth about $10,0000 to $12,000 worth of jewelry and gold. They went through everything, they opened the kid's piggy banks and all the other cash that was there," Mr Hassan said.

It seems the alleged thieves knew the place was empty.

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A red Mitsubishi Outlander was captured on CCTV across the road only minutes before. "They are waiting for us until we leave the house and as soon as we leave the house they go and park their car on the side street, then they walk back," Mr Hassan said.

The pair smashed their way through a glass window, before one of them walked across the road to keep watch.

"According to police as well, he was very professional, he was wearing gloves, because he did not leave any finger marks," Mr Hassan explained.  

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After grabbing what he could one of the alleged thieves maked a quick getaway out the back of the house, before scaling a fence.

Every moment was captured on the neighbours CCTV.

"They're taking off with a ladies purse on them, crossing the road, and then running away from here," Mr Hassan said.

While it's the first time Mr Hassan and his family have ever been robbed, it's becoming all too common across the country.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed break and enters have increased 26 per cent since December last year.

"So it's massive, so when people are going back to work people need to be conscious about these security measures they can take at home," Crimsafe CEO, Jim Sturgess said.

He said there are simple steps families can take to avoid being targeted by thieves.

"They'll look for a sign that's got a dog sign, they'll look for a sign that's got CCTV, they'll look in the front for any motion detectors or alarm systems because if the house has got those they're probably going to say I'm going to go next door," Mr Sturgess said.

A secure fence, locked gate, sensor lighting and clipped trees are also deterrents, while the front door and laundry areas out the back are the most common entry points. 

"They can't be seen so you need to pay extra attention to make sure you have double locks, triple locks, even security screen doors there as well," Mr Sturgess said.

As we head into summer, Jim said it's even easier for opportunistic thieves to get in.

"This is a fly screen which is great for keeping mosquitoes out but not for keeping burglars out, so I'd definitely think about getting a security screen that at least meets Australian standards," he explained.

Crimsafe has teamed up with Neighbourhood Watch and developed an audit tool called Secure Score, which rates your home security.

"It's free, it takes only a few minutes to check your property and it's so worthwhile," Neighbourhood Watch CEO, Maria Bennett said.

After answering questions and getting a rating out of 100, residents are then given a plan that could help improve home security.

"Neighborhood watch is really all about crime prevention and the secure score app is exactly that. It's going to help in reducing crime," she said.

"It was so easy to get a final answer and give us an idea of how safe or unsafe our home is," homeowner Jake Marsh said.

The Marsh family's home scored at 76, which is well above the current national average of just 52.

"It's probably something that does need to change, and I think having the app out there and people talking about that probably really helps make those changes that need to be made," Steph Marsh said.

Never wanting to experience a robbery again, Mr Hassan installed security cameras in and around his house straight away.

"I actually encourage everyone in the area to do the same so we can avoid these robberies from happening and we can catch those people," Mr Hassan said.

For more information about security scores on the Crimsafe website visit, here.