What to do about the crimes that affect us most in South Africa
The SAPS released the 2008/09 crime statistics recently and unfortunately all the gains they've made in many areas are being completely over-shadowed by the crimes that affect the people of South Africa most directly: house robberies, business robberies and carjackings. Business robberies increased by 41.1% and robbery at residential premises by 27.3%.
To quote the annual report: "...attacks on people in their own homes or on their driveways create the feeling that no-one is safe...these robberies have become increasingly violent and are now considered the second most important generator of crimes such as murder and attempted murder."
(http://www.saps.gov.za/saps_profile/strategic_framework/annual_report/2008_2009/2_crime_situation_sa.pdf)
Combating house robbery
Three interesting facts to emerge from the report and Trellidor has some suggestions on what we, as individuals, can do about them:
Fact 1: House robberies occur evenly over all days of the week, mostly at night when the perpetrators know that the victims are in the house and probably sleeping.
Solutions: Get into the habit of diligently using your security measures. Never forget to lock up properly, even if you're still up and watching TV. Set your alarm. Make sure your garage doors are closed and locked and allow your dog inside so that it can alert you to potential intruders lurking outside. Don't leave tools lying around outside for criminals to use as weapons to break in. Join your neighbourhood watch. Keep an eye out for suspicious looking people in the area and report them to your armed response unit. Turn these actions into a normal routine and they won't seem so annoying. They could save your life.
Fact 2: Most house robberies were perpetrated by small, armed groups.
Solutions: Again, the answer is to not allow them to get into your home in the first place, because they are using those weapons more frequently. "We have to make sure that criminals cannot physically get their hands on us. Reliable security barriers fitted to every single external door, window and passage is the most effective way of achieving this," said Peter Rawson, marketing director of the Trellicor Group.
Trellidor recommends setting up a safe zone in the home. This is often the bedroom area, and has top quality burglar guards on all windows and a sliding barrier in the passage that is kept locked at night. "We strongly suggest that sliding Trellidors are fitted to at least one window, to use as an escape route in an emergency such as fire or robbers in the rest of the house," said Rawson. The safe zone can also be used during the day, particularly when children are home alone.
Fact 3: In 55.9% of cases the robbers had gained access by force i.e. housebreaking; in 40.3% of cases they did not have to use force; in 3.8% they were simply let in by a person.
Solutions: As the writers of the report commented, "The 40.3% of incidents during which (the robbers) did not have to use force were actually quite surprising given the high levels of fear among South Africans for these house robberies." Complacency is often the problem here: the ‘it won't happen to me' syndrome.
We all need to take more positive action to protect ourselves at home. There are still too many homes in South Africa with absolutely no security measures in place. Barriers on doors and windows should be the first line of defence, with other forms of security added when finances allow. Paying for security measures should be at the top of our priorities list, rather than a new flat screen TV or DVD player.
Helping to securing your home can be an expensive exercise, particularly if you're starting from scratch. Trellidor has teamed up with Finconnect to make paying for your security barriers quick, easy and affordable. You can now afford to help secure your entire home using this flexible finance option.
To find a Trellidor consultant near you, go to the store locator or telephone 0861 TRELLIDOR.
