Tips to keep safe this Easter weekend
Security companies share their advice on what and what not to do this Easter.
With Easter around the corner, every community member should make it their top priority to keep their family and home safe.
Security companies are warning households and businesses to stay alert this Easter period after increases were noted in home and business-related crimes according to the latest crime stats which cover the 2022-23 January to March period.
Burglary: Laudium, Pretoria.#CrimeWatch pic.twitter.com/Ssj7whPbIS
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 20, 2024
Minister of Police General Bheki Cele released the fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2022-23 financial year in Cape Town on May 30, 2023.
According to the stats for 2022-23, Brooklyn Police Station indicated that robberies at residential premises had increased from 22 counts by 16.
Burglaries at residential premises decreased by 10 from 141 and thefts of motor vehicles and motorcycles also decreased from 265 counts by 76.
At Lyttelton Police Station, the number of robberies at residential premises increased to 11 cases in 2023, compared to the 10 registered for the same period the previous year.
Reports of burglaries at residential premises decreased from 149 by 13 and thefts of motor vehicles and motorcycles decreased from 101 counts by 24.
Silverton Police Station’s reports of robbery at residential premises decreased by 12 in 2023 from 18 in 2022, with burglaries at residential premises remaining consistent at 84 reports.
For motor vehicle and motorcycle theft, reports increased from 48 by 7 counts.
Bank following: victim was apparently followed from a bank at Menlyn Maine, east of Pretoria, last week, after withdrawing money and robbed of the cash outside Centurion Eco Park. #CrimeWatch pic.twitter.com/29w8wwUSXT
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 20, 2024
Safety tips shared by Fidelity ADT spokesperson Jacqui Moloi include:
– Ensure your alarm is in working order. Don’t leave it until the day before you leave, as you may need technical assistance to fix any problems and this could take a few days.
– Make sure your security provider has access to your property in the event of an emergency. If you don’t have an access solution in place, such as Fidelity SecureGate for example, speak to your security provider about your options.
– Cut back any bushes or trees that may offer easy access over walls or gates to your property or provide places for criminals to hide. Take a walk around your perimeter to check walls and fences for broken or damaged areas that may compromise their effectiveness.
– If hiring a house-sitter, ensure you teach them how to use your alarm correctly. If you don’t have a house-sitter, ask a neighbour or friend to turn on lights occasionally so there is a sense that someone is around. Otherwise consider putting your outside lights on a timer.
– Instal outside lights that can be remotely controlled from inside the house. Consider installing outside lighting activated by a motion detector.
– Double-check that you have locked and secured all windows and doors before leaving home. Turn off your geyser and electrical appliances so you can save on electricity and be environmentally friendly.
– Ensure all windows are fitted with adequate locks or burglar bars that cover all glass.
– Ensure all duplicate keys are locked away if not in use. Do not leave them in doors or make unnecessary copies.
CSI Security spokesperson Dana Bloem said people should make sure their alarm systems are checked and are in working condition before leaving their homes.
Bloem shared these safety tips:
– Make sure your armed response company knows about your key holders and that access to your premises is sorted out.
– Make sure your vehicles are serviced and all transport issues are sorted out before you leave.
– Keep your jewellery in a safety box because it makes you a target.
– Keep pepper spray with you wherever you are.
– Download a mobile panic app for any vehicle and medical problems or need for armed response.
“We also have a mobile panic app, they can preset it and we can organise from wherever they are in South Africa by just pressing a panic button,” said Bloem.
Monitor Net spokesperson JP Le Roux urged residents to:
– Test their alarms and make sure backup power to security systems is sufficient.
– Keep all valuables safe and out of sight whether at home, in your car or walking on the street.
– Be vigilant and report all crime as quickly as possible with as much information as possible.
– Remember emergency details like contact numbers, medical aid details, car registrations, or tracking companies.
Le Roux said in a moment of need, these can easily be forgotten.
“Write it down and keep it safe where it can be found and also save it on your phone where only you will get it,” he said.
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