According to Professor Rudolph Zinn, the author of Home Invasion, burglary is the biggest crime hitting areas with 240 000 burglaries every year in South Africa.
Prof Zinn said most burglaries occur during the day when people are at work. These burglaries are opportunistic.
“They will usually pick an area and go from house to house, ringing doorbells or intercoms to see if anyone is home. They want to get in and out as quickly as possible so any noise, like dogs on the property, would act as a deterrent. Dogs kept inside are the greatest deterrent,” said Prof Zinn.
He distinguishes between burglars and robbers.
He said robbers scout a neighbourhood to see how tight the security is. When interviewed, 68 percent said a visible patrol or neighbourhood watch would deter them from going in, so having a good neighbourhood watch or proactive patrolling by a security provider can be a major deterrent.
77 percent of robbers interviewed said they had help from a source inside the house. Domestic Watch programmes can empower domestic staff to be more security conscious.
Prof Zinn also highlighted the importance of perimeter security, saying robbers were less likely to hit a home that had a perimeter alarm and beams as they said it gave the home owner more time to arm themselves and call their security provider or the police. He said robbers usually went into houses between 4pm and 10pm as people were at home and did not have their alarms set yet.
The following steps can go a long way to protecting your home and family:
- Ensure the shrubs are trimmed around your driveway gate. All overgrowth and trees should be cut back to prevent criminals from using these to access your property by jumping over walls.
- Ensure that perimeter doors are fitted with adequate locks. The front door should have a safety chain or safety latch and if the door has no vision panel, a door viewer or peephole should be installed.
- Ensure all windows are fitted with adequate locks or burglar bars that cover all the glass.
- Install outside lights that can be remotely controlled from inside the house.
- Sleep with a panic button next to your bedside in case of emergency.
