On the latest Buzzworthy ‘Crime Buzz' podcast, producer Ross Crowley delves into the topic of home security with Gavin McCormick, a security technician, consultant and owner of Be Alarmed.

The 24 minute in-studio interview addresses how to best protect homes from intruders and theft, along with how to safeguard loved ones from any potential dangers on your doorstep.

'About 90 per cent of what we see [in Tauranga] is during the day and opportunist,” says Gavin.

'This means they are targeting the area in groups of than more than two, they will walk door to door, and if nobody is home they will try their luck.

'Nowhere in Tauranga is exempt from it, whether it is Ohauiti one day or Gill Lane in Te Puna the next in a rural environment, or if it's Waratah Street in Matua. All those environments and everything in-between.

'We've had examples of people doing their dishes at the back of their property, and then they're face-to-face with a teenager who's just walked on looking to see if someone is home.

'A couple of things, one is take a photo of the individual, if you see their vehicle take a photo, and definitely show it to police.

'Often you will be confronted by the person with an empty dog lead who will say ‘have you seen a white dog, I've lost it,' or they will say they are trying to sell firewood, basically any excuse to be on your property.”

Gavin adds the items thieves are looking for is 'things they can move quickly”.

'Generally its things like cash, or things they can carry easily that don't require disassembling.

'A lot of technology is outdated from the day you buy it, so a lot of things like TVs and computers are not targeted as often as we think. Power tools are a big thing at the moment as well.

'The targeted crime is quite different, as criminals will know what Harley Davison's are in what area, and where they park, and knowing who has gun safes in their property and things like that.”

Gavin says the biggest targets are trade tools, Harley Davison's, hot rods, and fishing gear.

'If they see a boat on the side and racks of fishing rods when the garage door is open, that can become a target as well.

'A lot of it is not traceable. A fishing rod is a fishing rod. Quad bikes are not traceable.”

The full podcast is jam-packed with top tips on how to best protect and prevent your home from one of the 7500 combined burglaries and thefts in Tauranga in the last year.

To take advantage of this learning opportunity from one of Tauranga's top home security experts, visit the full episode on the Buzzworthy site.