Your home, your sanctuary?

Your home is normally considered as a sanctuary where you should feel safe. The question is – is your home really safe from criminal intrusion?

The newest statistics with regard to crime paint a frightening picture concerning  the increase in residential robberies in South Africa. Traditional commercial targets for criminals like banks, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, jeweller’s stores have secured themselves against criminals. With increased technology, these establishments have installed sophisticated video surveillance systems, access control systems, employed armed response companies linked to alarm installations and other deterrent devices.

Consequently residences are becoming a more attractive target. Unlike robbing retail establishments, the robbers have more time to gain access into the home where they will not have to deal with the police suddenly arriving or customers walking in. Once the robbers have managed to enter a home they can force the owners to open safes, hand over valuables, car keys and PIN numbers to ATM cards.

They create more time for their their escape by disabling the phones and sometimes leave their victims bound inside the house. In some instances the criminals will load up the stolen car with their loot and will drive away without anyone in the neighbourhood eing the wiser. If criminals can be deleayed at the point of entry it could provide home-owners time to react to the situation or summon the police. 

Failing to lock doors and windows or arbitrarily opening the door without question at the sound of a knock increases the chances of a forced entry. The best defence against criminals is forward security planning. Occupants of a house should discuss the steps to be taken in the event of an attempted break-in and  knowing how criminals think and what deters them could go a long way to preventing any incidents. 

Alarm systems deter burglaries because they increase the potential fear of being caught and being arrested by the police. The deterrent value comes from the alarm company alarm decals on the windows and on outside perimeter walls. Robbers will usually bypass a property with visible alarm signs and go to another property without such signage.

CCTV systems Many people choose to invest in a home surveillance system but they are only useful if monitored. There are companies that are prepared to do outside monitoring of the premises as they can record video and keep it stored for you to view later. If you travel a lot, a home surveillance system can be an ideal way to keep a check on your home while you are away.

Guard dogs Guard dogs can be very handy to have around, as most dogs are more than capable of scaring away trouble with their bark.

Doors and locks Remember, the robber will simply bypass your home if it requires too much effort or requires more skill and tools than they possess. The need is to 'harden the target' and make your home more difficult to enter. The robber will look for the weakest point of entry – the garage door followed by the back door. Use high quality Grade-1 or Grade-2 locks on exterior doors to resist twisting, prying, and lock-picking attempts. A quality door knob-in-lock set will have a ‘dead latch’ mechanism to prevent the prying open the lock with a shim or credit card.

Windows An open window, visible from the street or alley, may be the sole reason for your home to be selected by a robber. Windows have latches, not locks and therefore should have secondary blocking devices to prevent them from being opened from the outside. Place highly visible decals on the glass door near the latch mechanism that indicates that an alarm system is in place.

Lighting It is necessary to show signs of life and activity inside a residence at night. A home with no lights on gives robbers the impression that the occupants are away. Light timers are inexpensive and can be used to turn on lights at designated times. However, they should be used on a daily basis, not just when you are away. Exterior lighting is also very important especially when having to enter and park in your driveway. Good lighting is definitely a deterrent to criminals because they do not want to be seen or identified. Security lights with infrared motion sensors are relatively inexpensive and can easily replace an exterior porch light, side door light or garage light.

Home safes Having a safe in your home is a wise investment. They are designed to keep robbers from gaining access to important documents and valuable personal belongings. Home safes need to be anchored into the floor or permanent shelving in a secreted section of the home. Make a list of your most valuable possessions and keep all receipts in a home safe.

Be a good neighbour Good neighbours will watch out for your home when you are away, if you ask them. However, it is important to establish communications with your neighbours on all sides of your home. They can attend to alarm activations and report suspicious activity to the police while you are away.

Safe room Have a room within the home into which the family can retreat in the event of a robbery. The room should be lockable from the inside where an alarm can be raised and help summoned. In the room there should be the necessary emergency items which include a cellphone, a torch, first aid kit, food and water. In addition a panic button should also be installed from the alarm system. Remember not to exit the safe room until either the police arrive or the robbers have left the premises.

Source: www.homesecuritysa.com

 

 

 

 

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