In an emergency always dial 999

If you have been mugged, badly hurt, or attacked in any way, or if you've just seen a serious crime being committed, then you should ring 999 as soon as possible.

Your call should be answered within ten seconds. A trained staff member will ask you to describe what has happened and where you are. They may ask if you need any other emergency services, such as an ambulance.

If the situation is an emergency, a police officer will come to the scene to talk to you. They'll ask you to explain what happened, and they can help you decide what to do next.

Non-Emergency Crimes dial 101

If you want to report a minor crime, such as a stolen mobile phone, you should go to your nearest police station to report it, or call your local police by dialling 101.

Basically, you should call 101 to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

How to report crime anonymously

If you want to report a crime, but you do not want to be identified to the police, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Crimestoppers will ask questions about the crime you have information on but will never ask questions about you. If you are at all concerned your call could be traced, reassure yourself by dialling 141 before 0800 555 111, which blocks your phone number. Or use a phone box – it's free. Because Crimestoppers is an 0800 number, calls are free from a landline and don't show up on a BT or cable phone bill.

Alternatively, you can report a crime anonymously with Crimestoppers online

In the event of a fire, get out of the house as quickly as possible by following your pre-determined escape plan, shut all the doors and call the fire brigade. Do not return to your home until the fire brigade says it is safe to do so.

Plan an escape from your home in advance and talk about it with your family - perhaps get kids to draw out their escape route as this can aid their memory. If a fire occurs you may have to get out in the dark and difficult conditions. Escaping will be a lot easier if everyone knows where to go. Make sure your routes remain free of any obstructions and that there are no loose floor coverings that could trip you.

If you were woken by the alarm, first get your bearings and assess the situation - do not sit up in bed as there may already be smoke and hot gasses in your room.

If the room you are in is already hot and full of smoke then find the closest safe exit and get out - this may not necessarily be your primary escape route.

If your door is closed, remember to feel the door handle and/or door with the back of your hand. If it’s warm or hot, find another way out.

Family Members

If you are not the only person in your home and your family is there too. Again, focus on the conditions in the room you start off in. If they’re bad, get out now and work from the outside in to help your family.

If conditions are clear, stay as low as possible and move to the rooms they are in to alert them and go together to the closest exit immediately.

In the event a family member is trapped inside and the rest of you are safely outside, this is the first thing that firefighters need to know when showing up to the scene.

Additional things to tell them would be the family member's name, age, sex and what room they may possibly be in. This information can help reduce the search time to find loved ones.

If everyone is out of your home you can tell firefighters of the location of important things that they may try to save for you - i.e. the last known location of a pet or the location of a fireproof safe where you keep vital documents and sentimental items.

Preparation

Along with the basic items we use on a daily basis, such as a driver's license, credit cards, car keys and mobile phones, there are also other items that will be especially important after a house fire. These include copies of your Insurance Policies, Birth Certificates, titles or deeds, computer backups, spare clothing, etc.

These are all items that can, for the most part, be copied and/or stored somewhere other than your home so they're available if needed. We recommend scanning or photographing these documents and keeping a copy as an online backup.

If you store these items in a fireproof safe, keep in mind that most safes are only designed and rated to be in a heated environment for a particular length of time.

Some simple items could be stored in a shed, neighbours house or with a family member that lives nearby. These would be things such as a change of clothes for everyone in the family (remember to keep sizes up to date), important phone numbers, backup ID, credit cards and any daily prescriptions that a family member requires.

Always call the police.

If it's unsafe to talk, or you feel too scared to, there is a way of calling them without making any noise - and it's known as the Silent Solution.

If you don't respond to their initial question asking which emergency service you require, the assistant will ask you to 'cough', or make some other audible indication in the case of an emergency.

If even making any sound is dangerous, and therefore no request is made, the call will be put through to an automated system, which asks the caller to press '55' if they're in trouble.

What can I do to protect myself?

Anyone can use "reasonable force" to protect themselves or others, carry out an arrest or prevent a crime.

The CPS says:

"You are not expected to make fine judgements over the level of force you use in the heat of the moment. So long as you only do what you honestly and instinctively believe is necessary in the heat of the moment, that would be the strongest evidence of you acting lawfully and in self-defence."

Of course, taking action against an intruder/burglar is to be avoided if at all possible.

It will generally be safer for you and your family to stay away from any criminal - try to call for help, hide in a safe place, or get to a safe location.

It can be easy to ignore a vehicle or house alarm because they can sometimes go off by accident or only for a short period of time.

However, taking a little bit of time and effort to investigate an alarm can make your whole community safer from crime.

The first and safest thing you can do it to look out of your windows and try to see if any strobe lights on your neighbour's homes are lit or if a vehicle is flashing its lights.

If you cannot see which house or vehicle is making the sound you could venture outside and look 360 degrees around to see if you can spot the home or vehicle that is making the noise.

The added bonus of venturing out is that you make it quite apparent that someone is being vigilant - and if other neighbours look out of their windows and see you in the street they may come out and join you to help see what is going on and it can be a great show of neighbourhood solidarity which may, in turn, discourage criminals from turning up at any other homes in your area.

If it is dark then taking out powerful torches can assist you in scaring off potential criminals without having to get anywhere near them.

One of the worst things for a burglar is being recognised, and if your neighbourhood is working hard to keep an eye out when every alarm goes off, thieves will hopefully go elsewhere.

Another thing to remember after a vehicle or home break-in is any surveillance video neighbours may have. Often times, vehicle thieves walk down the whole street - discreetly pulling on door latches or looking in vehicles. This can help you and the police identify who may have broken into your vehicle.

Motion sensor lights can also help alert you to people approaching your house or vehicle. The last thing a thief wants to do is trigger some kind of indicator that they're out there and looking about.

And remember that neighbours working together can have a huge impact on reducing crime.

Anti-social behaviour covers a wide range of unacceptable activity that causes harm to an individual, to their community or to their environment.

This could be an action by someone else that leaves you feeling alarmed, harassed or distressed. It also includes fear of crime or concern for public safety, public disorder or public nuisance.

The police, local authorities and other community safety partner agencies, such as Fire & Rescue and social housing landlords, all have a responsibility to deal with anti-social behaviour and to help people who are suffering from it.

If you are experiencing problems with anti-social behaviour, or have any concerns about it, or other community safety issues, you should contact your local council or call the non-emergency number 101.

As always if it is an emergency please call 999.