"Know your enemies and fortify your weaknesses. That will ensure you conquering an army and living in strength."

Home security is something affecting everyone. It is absolutely essential to safeguard your home and protect the family and other residents by preventing burglaries, armed robberies and unwanted intrusions.

Know your enemies

It really is necessary to know at least what kind of attacks you need to stop before the home security is breached.

Such a profile of the criminals was provided in the SA Crime Quarterly No 23 March 2008. It contains an analysis of a sample of residential robberies investigated by five police stations in Gauteng where their case loads reflect among the highest numbers of residential robberies in the country.

The analysis found the following:

  • 75 percent of robberies, burglaries or intrusions are carried out by groups of two or three perpetrators.

  • Most of the perpetrators are males between the ages of 17 and 29.

  • 92 percent of the incidents involved firearms.

  • 50 percent took place between 21:00 and 04:00, but this differs according to area.

Fortify your weaknesses

Now that you know who are going to break in and when, take note of how they are going to gain access to your place. Unfortunately many house and property owners do not know how best to approach the home security problem. They often settle for the cheapest and easiest burglar proofing and alarm systems without any idea how effective that will be.

  • 60 percent of incidents occur following a 'forced entry' while people are in their homes.

  • 12 percent of incidents occur as a result of 'easy access' as residents have not locked doors or windows or left gates open or unlocked.

  • Three percent of incidents occur when perpetrators wait for the victims to get home before forcing them inside.

  • Three percent of incidents occur with the perpetrators following victims home from other locations (e.g. shopping malls).

The obvious question: How do you prevent these crimes? How careless are you and your family? Is your burglar proofing, intruder alarm and defenses good enough and are you alert enough?

Where is your back-up?

If you rely on an armed reaction security patrol, how quick and how good are they?

Remember, if a security guard cannot hop over your garden wall, you should fire that security company because their guards are not fit enough and will quite likely be unable to protect you and your family!

GriffithsREID says in view of the latest revelations about the effectiveness of security companies, you should insist on your contracted service provider producing certified proof that they comply with the standards stipulated by law.

Ask them also how many of their guards or patrolmen have had their backgrounds checked for criminal records.

Ask for advice and ask again from other sources. Don't be scared to be skeptical. In the current tight financial climate, everybody needs to stretch every Rand and make sure the best possible deal or service is being obtained.

Even though you might be satisfied with the security, check with your short-term insurer whether their standards are being met.

Unless your security is in order and you have taken the best precautions possible, you might find them rejecting claims after a break-in or house robbery.