07/06/2015
I like to call these my: "Ten Commandments of House Robbery"
One of the most serious threats we face is an armed intrusion into our homes. Last week I spoke about the "what if's" of when the dudes are already in. Here, I'd like to share some rules on not having to go through that in the first place.
I like to call these my: "Ten Commandments of House Robbery"
YOU are primarily responsible for YOUR safety and that of people under your care. Blame is the mantra of the eternal loser. It sickens me when pure negligence is farmed off to someone else’s responsibility. “But the shopping centre should have had more security guards”. You left your laptop in the car. It is your laptop. Your car. You had ultimate control. Accept it and do not make the same mistake again. In nature, the word used for creatures who do not learn and continue to make the same mistakes: Extinction.
The same lesson must be extended to your home. Should I remind you that your home is your castle?
1st Commandment: Secure Ye thy boundary.If you have fences or walls that your average teenager can scale then criminals can too. This has nothing to do with “I don’t want to look like I’m living in a prison.” You say that, not me. You have the skill and the ability to decorate anything you desire. If you WANT big coils of silver (or rusty) razor wire topping your wall then so be it. If you want to beautify it with creeper or vines or get the wall topping that looks like vines then you can do that too. How are your gates or doors to the property controlled? I’m not a big believer in remote locks that buzz open. I’ve kicked in plenty of these in my career. They are not any level of real protection. If you have one and decide you want to keep it, reinforce the gate or door with a strong bolt that is welded to the gate or fixed to the door. After hours or when there is no pedestrian traffic you can latch it and lock it with the biggest padlock you can find.I’m tired of hearing about “the” gate crash gang. (As if there is only one) In a vast amount of the cases criminals across the land, who have never met each other, use a vehicle to push open or derail automatic gates. I believe that when everyone has come or gone your driveway gates (or doors in some cases) must be secured with a physical lock or chain, especially at night when everyone is home and safe.
2nd Commandment: Guard thy gate.Nobody comes on your property until their identity is confirmed and their credentials verified. This rule must be employed by every single person who lives or works on your property. I do not want to hear about, “most of the time”. Murphy’s law is a reality, this I warn you. Video and audio monitors that can be fitted at your gate or door must be employed. If you cannot see or distinctly hear who is seeking entry THEY DO NOT GET IN. Again, I am not going to get into a discussion as to when, if or why. If that person is not a verified, recognised or identified guest or visitor, entrance is refused and you can call your armed response or the SAPS to investigate. You do not bend. You do not go outside to “see”. You do not enter into negotiations or discussions. You cease speaking and get people to come check what is going on. A huge percentage of house robberies occur when criminals bluff their way into the property. People (and forgive me, especially the elderly) are so afraid of hurting someone’s feelings by saying, “NO. Go away.” that criminals take advantage of this by sweet talking and getting in.
3rd Commandment: Thy employees shalt follow the Rules.No matter whether they work in your house, in your garden or in your office on the property, they abide by the rules all the time with no exceptions. You are the boss and you make the decisions. I do not care for, “oh it’s my son’s friend.” This is MY house. I decide who comes in. Again, that person is properly identified. Once you are happy with his credentials, he can come in. Not his three buddies, HIM. If he has three buddies, nobody comes in unless you are completely satisfied with every person’s identity and purpose of entry. Do your employees have keys/remotes/swipe cards to enter your property or home? How secure are these? Do you investigate thoroughly if one is lost or stolen or do you just replace it? Complacency will kill you. It is your property. Get real, grow a spine and control it.
4th Commandment: Thy employees art human.When I say human, I mean that in every sense of the word. Firstly they can think for themselves but must follow instructions in certain situations due to their status as employees. A domestic worker becomes the gatekeeper when you are not home. It is her responsibility to control entry to your property. Read that as nobody comes in unless she recognises that person or is a vetted visitor or guest. Time and time again I see crimes occurring because “the maid let them in.” This is unacceptable. If you cannot be sure that your house is secure while you are away, by your employees not letting anyone and everyone in, in my opinion they must not work for you. Unless it is absolutely agreed by you, she does not let her own family or visitors enter. Think of a business. I can’t simply walk into a company and see anyone I want, even if that person is my brother. The receptionist’s job is to verify that I am a bona fide person, pose no threat to anyone and may enter that section. I do not have carte blanche to wander all over the place. Secondly, in saying all that, your domestics must be empowered with their role. They must understand that they have a duty and a job description. If someone is to be let in that day, say another workman you must inform her of the name of the supervisor, the company name and telephone number, what exactly they are expected to do and what area of the property or home they may enter. Any deviation from that and she must raise the alarm. Once more, too many house robberies occur when this is a bluff. Further, we get a lot of false alarms and rush in looking for someone to kill because you forgot to tell your domestic that guys are coming to fix the tumble dryer. Wake up. This is not a game.Thirdly, your domestic is a victim. Many, many house robberies occur against domestic workers. They are beaten and dragged around the houses and made to point out items of value or concealed goods. I have cut them loose after being duct taped to the toilet and worse. Completely get rid of the myth of racism in criminals. Criminals treat victims of the same race equally to those of a different race. The label “criminal” does not have a coloured tag attached. Fourthly, your domestic has feelings. Safetynet, our own CPF coordinated trauma counsellors, tell me horrific stories. Several times they have been called out to a hysterical home owner who wasn’t actually home when the crime occurred. The actual victim, the domestic worker is sitting crying quietly on a chair while the “madam” does her nut about how upset she is and that they are packing for Australia in the morning. Your domestic is a human being. While under your employ she deserves all the protection and benefits you can offer. She must be able to work in a safe environment. This means you enforce the rules laid out here. If she is afraid, you must deal with it. If she has concerns for her safety, you must deal with it. If she is in danger coming to or going home from your home you should be taking steps to help her get home safely. Your kiddies get picked up from school on the bell, why can’t you give even a short a lift to the human being who looks after your home and cleans up after you?
5th Commandment: Ye shalt not be predictable.Yes, I know you have to be at work at a certain time. However, as with hijackings, routines can work for you and against you. In Westville we have had several cases where people were confronted as they were leaving home. How can we limit this? Here, I know I am guilty. I stagger out after over sleeping and doing a rush job ironing my shirt. I’m wiping coffee off my chin and already thinking about the day and wondering if I have everything in the right pocket. I don’t expect to be met half way down my driveway by two guys with guns. Or should I? Well, if I have done all the above correctly then I shouldn’t. I’ve written before of my routine with letting the dogs out and let them sniff around before I do anything. Try the same. If you have outside dogs, he or she should be waiting at your front door when you walk out. Throw a ball for them to make them cast around and if there is a new and strange smell they will pick it up. Then you should keep your eyes open. There are those people who go straight from the house through an inter leading door to the garage. This, I don’t like. When do you open the garage door? Is it by remote or manual? Have you any clue as to what is waiting for you when it lifts? CCTV cameras mounted outside with even just a monitor you can scan before opening up will ensure you don’t sit like a rat in a trap.
6th Commandment: Closeth thy damn doors.A couple years back Westville went through a horrific patch when people were home with their families at 8pm and literally, according to their own statements, three armed strangers were standing in the lounge, etc, etc. What possessed people, at that time of night to have not only their driveway gates but front door standing open? What more could a criminal want? And as much as I begged, pleaded, stood on my head, almost daily for a terrible period crooks walked in and held up families. “We’re under siege!” one woman shrieked at the CPF meeting. “Close your frikkin front doors.” I growled back. Suddenly the penny dropped. Community members learnt a lesson. Close your front door, lock it, and crooks don’t walk in. Amazing.
7th Commandment: Thy cannot fight what thy cannot see.Don’t illuminate yourself. You should know who you are. I must find the ass who insisted that people have to have a 5000 gigawatt sunlamp positioned above the garage door that detects YOUR movement and sears three layers off your corneas when you come home after dark. If you blind yourself coming home you will not see any threat that may be waiting for you. Light up the dark corners and shrubbery. That’s where criminals hide. It is an idea, especially if you are coming home after dark and there is no one home to put lights on for you is to have a timer on some lights. These should at least give you the ability to see your surroundings and know that it is safe to proceed with whatever you are doing. Your lighting should generally aim away from the house. If you want to illuminate your outside walls don’t do it in a way that blinds you or anyone else, including your neighbours. Interior lights should not be directed in a manner that casts shadows of people on curtains or blinds. If your curtains are closed I should not, from the outside, see people moving around, count them or find out anything about them. Here I continue the 6th Commandment. Close your damn curtains. From my view just patrolling the area I look into houses, especially those below road level and you will be amazed by what I can and have seen. Your privacy is a protection. A prospective crook should not be able to gather information about you through your windows, especially when you are vulnerable at night. Remember if I am in the dark, I can see you standing in the light. You are lit up, your pupils have constricted and you cannot see anything in the dark. Remember this. If you move from light to dark allow your eyes time to adjust. If you are in the dark, don’t destroy your night vision by shining stuff in your eyes. That goes for torches, and cigarette lighters.
8th Commandment: More than one of thy guests should remain sober.Yes, there have been incidents where parties have been pooped by crooks coming in and holding everyone up. How? Because stupid white people get complacent and lazy when the liquor flows. You should have at least a few designated drivers who stay sober. These people, under the 2nd Commandment become your Gate keepers. It is not only crooks we are worried about. Any emergency at the residence cannot be appropriately dealt with if everyone is smashed out of their minds. Behave yourselves
9th Commandment: Limit thee thy loss.A little bit of preparation can save you a lot of pain. Just about everyone has a safe in the back of the cupboard. Does the motto “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” ring a bell? So too, do not put all your jewellery, watches, cash, cards, guns, etc, etc in one safe. Get another safe, hide it properly and put your most valuable stuff in there, like your granny’s ring she carried through the holocaust. Put things that are replaceable in the decoy safe. Some cash, the cheapest of your three Rolex’s. Crooks want to be in and out as fast as possible. Very rarely do they hold people up for longer than ten minutes. Time is not accurately measured under pressure. What feels like an hour is not. Limit your potential loss by a bit of planning. I am not saying you must roll over and play dead because you inevitably will get “robbed” one day, I am saying there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.
10th Commandment: Thy shalt reap what they spendeth.Under other guises I have spoken about your investment in your safety. This is not only in Zim Dollars but your emotional and spiritual investment. You simply cannot buy the cheapest rubbish or duck and dive and expect it to protect your million plus Rand home. How much do you spend on entertainment against how much do you spend on security. Don’t tell me you spent R20 grand on a fence. That, once off, is 1% of the value of your house, excluding contents. Well done. Fine investment that is. So you spend R800 on DSTV, R500 on braais and beer, Another R300 for pizza once a month, but your entire monthly security budget is the R400 you give ADT to monitor your alarm. From proportion of spending I can see exactly where your priorities are. And yet people tell me crime is out of control. (cliche alert) To effectively protect yourself and your family you need to set bucks aside every month or every three months and conduct some level of security upgrade. Even if you start by replacing one burglar guard at a time, DO IT. Do something!
You have to feel safe in your home, street and neighbourhood. Do not tell me you are "living in fear". Nobody told you that. YOU told YOURSELF that. You are poisoning your own mind with drivvel. Your mind set and attitude towards yourself, your home and your community dictates very simply to whether you are a happy person or not. This has nothing to do what you get from the community or from the existing structures (police etc) but what you give back. Whether there is one police vehicle in your area or twenty. It is impossible to personally babysit each of over 10 000 households in my area 24 hours a day. Some of the most fulfilling work you can do is volunteer work. Whether you call them Street Watches, Neighbourhood Watches, Street Committees, they work. It is a moral and physical drawing together of like-minded people who want to do something positive in improving the communal area.
It’s an evolution from a “my problem” to “our solution”.
As with any advice, this above is free. You can use it or ignore it, but I'm not interesting in arguing. Rather adapt at least some of the rules to suit your particular needs and environment to limit the risk to you and your family.
It’s your life, it’s your family’s lives, take it seriously.
