Summer Safety

2020 is certainly going to be a summer to remember. The coronavirus pandemic has markedly changed our society. With many of us working and spending more time at home, outdoor leisure has become an important part of daily life.

As coronavirus restrictions ease and bars, restaurants and holiday accommodation reopen, peronal safety becomes even more important.

Here are a few tips to help you have a safe and enjoyable summer, whether you are at home, at the beach or in the pub.

For guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) please visit the Scottish Government website.

Anti-social behaviour

We want you to have a great summer and enjoy sunbathing in the park or having a drink in your garden, but please remember to be considerate of others and respectful of your surroundings.

Be responsible and have a safe summer by:

• Always being considerate of your actions and the actions of your family and friends on others who may live nearby or who are enjoying time in the same area.
• Being mindful of your surroundings. Shouting, swearing, rowdy behaviour and loud music may be fun for you however may cause fear, alarm and distress to others.
• Binning your litter when you leave, be kind to our environment and keep Scotland beautiful.
• Keeping your dog on the lead and under control.
• Never carrying a weapon. If caught, you will be arrested and prosecuted. Criminal records for violence make it harder to get into college or university as well as going on holiday.
• Remembering that violent crime can affect anyone and innocent bystanders can get caught in the middle of other people’s disputes and suffer trauma, serious injuries or worse.

If you know or suspect someone who is responsible for anti-social behaviour, you can speak up 100% anonymously by contacting our partners at Fearless.

Alcohol

With beer gardens and bars now open, many of us are looking forward to a night out with friends. However, it is important to drink responsibly and put your safety and the safety of others first.

Overindulgence in alcohol can impact on your behaviour, your mind and your self-control. Drinking too much can make you vulnerable to becoming a victim of crime as well as getting involved in altercations which can ruin two lives.

Be responsible and have a safe summer by:

• Knowing your alcohol limits.
• Drinking plenty water, eating food and staying with friends. Never leave a drink unattended.
• Making sure you and your friends have return journeys planned.
• Not accepting a lift from anyone purporting to be a taxi driver if they do not have the correct license in place. Consider pre-booking your journey in advance.
• Keeping your personal belongings safe at all times.
• Being aware of local drinking laws in your council which can make it an offence to drink alcohol or have an open container of alcohol in a public area.

Secure your home

With holiday accommodation now open in Scotland and many of us booking local getaways, it is even more important to secure your home.

Although we are spending more time at home, it is still important to remember to secure your home when you are outside enjoying the sunshine.

Many thieves are actually opportunists who do not have to break in at all because a door or window has been left open or unlocked.

For more information visit the Home and Personal Property section of Police Scotland website.

Be responsible and have a safe summer by:

• Locking the front door and windows when sunbathing in the back garden.
• Locking all doors and windows when going out.
• Remember to lock all sheds and outbuildings after gardening.
• Never leaving keys on the inside of door locks, under mats or anywhere else an intruder may easily find them. Don’t keep house keys and car keys on the same key ring.
• Not leaving valuables in sight of windows.
• Avoiding keeping large amounts of cash in the house. If you must then disperse it in various locations.
• Security marking your property with a UV marker pen, which you can use to place an invisible imprint of your postcode and house number on your possessions.
• Recording details of your valuables, such as mobile phone, cameras, laptops and tablets on the national mobile property register at Immobilise.com.
• If you have a wall calendar, avoid mounting it near a window from where appointments can potentially be seen. This may give an indication of when a property will be empty.

Staying safe outdoors

Spending time outdoors has become more important than ever before. Everyone wants to see our countryside and enjoy our waterways and coastline.

Remember, any area of water, including reservoirs and canals, can hold hidden dangers. Scotland has more than 37,000 separate stretches of inland water and over 11,500 miles of coastline when including both mainland and island coast.

With many stretches located in remote areas, help will often be some considerable time away, so take responsibility for your own actions and make sensible decisions to stay safe around waterways.

Be responsible and enjoy a safe summer by:

• Being aware of the dangers when out hillwalking, cycling or near areas of water. Think about the risks and plan to minimise them.
• Never underestimating the current, temperature or depth when in water.
• Never get into the water alone and don’t go swimming after drinking alcohol.
• If you get in trouble in water, float to live.

You can find out more about inland water safety from our partners Scottish Water.

To get more information about how to enjoy sea sports and Scotland’s coastline safely, get advice from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and HM Coastguard, and general advice about water safety is also available from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

If you see someone in difficulty or at risk at sea or along the coast always dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.