Shedding the light on crime during load shedding

Load shedding, which is currently a daily occurrence in South Africa, is more than just a major inconvenience – it’s a crime risk too and has resulted in an increase in home break-ins and vehicle accidents.

With criminals keeping a close eye on load shedding schedules, extended periods of power outages have seen a sharp increase in home burglaries and other property related crime during January 2023.

Potchefstroom Homeowners need to regularly check their security systems and especially pay attention to their alarm batteries and battery back-up supplies during load shedding.

According to Leandro de Beer, a PSIRA registered and certified security consultant, when power supplies are interrupted, homeowners assume that their home alarm systems are deactivated as a result. But then again, if one has a secure and correctly programmed system, together with a battery and a battery back-up system, the alarm system will continue to protect one’s premises even during an electrical blackout.

He further mentions that the only time that the system may not function is if there is a technical issue or if the battery is low, especially during load shedding stages.

“Most modern alarm systems have a back-up battery pack that activates automatically when there is a power failure. There are several practical steps that can be taken to ensure security is not compromised during any power cuts.”

Some of these include ensuring that the alarm system has an adequate battery supply, that all automated gates and doors are secured and lastly to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to your security provider or the South African Police Service (SAPS) and home security alarm,” he says.

Leandro emphasises the importance of residents ensuring that their alarm systems have adequate battery supply and that they should be regularly checked, also during power cuts.

“If there is an additional battery pack, residents are reminded that because of load shedding, there might also be a higher than usual number of alarm activation signals received by security companies and their monitoring centres. This could lead to a delay in monitoring centre agents contacting customers,” says Leandro.

However, homeowners can assist security companies and call centre agents by manually cancelling potential false alarms that may be caused by low or depleted alarm batteries.