Security Action Plan

Security is not what you see in the movies, where criminals are caught, convicted and then sent to jail. In South Africa, there are on average about 24,000 murders per year (Interpol claims up to 54,000), yet there are only about 4000 convictions for murder a year. The USA, with 7 times our population, has only about 14,000 per year. The Nedcore Project concludes "South and Southern Africa are probably the most murderous societies on earth, even with probable under-reporting". In Garsfontein Secura Park we have created a multi-layered shield from crime. As soon as you exit any of these layers, become more exposed, and should be alert and aware of it.

v Common Sense is the keyword. Think proactively.

v Lock the doors of your house when you leave.

v Set your alarm when you are away and when you are sleeping.

v Buckle up, drive safely and lock your car doors when driving.

v Be friendly, but be alert - try to be the next person to prevent a crime.

Garsfontein Secura Park Security Overview

The security in GSP is multi-layered. The more layers of protection, the more barriers there are for criminals, and the more likely they will either be caught or go elsewhere. To illustrate the layered security scheme, think of the bedroom inside your house, inside your property, inside GSP. From the outside, the first barrier would be the perimeter fence.

The second barrier would be the electric fence, and this has made many a burglar think twice. The next barrier is the guard on patrol, and access to the reaction vehicle. Your own property fence is another barrier, and you might even have your own electric fence, or beams, which alert you to a possible intruder. The locked doors of your house are the next hurdle, and so too are the gates to the “safety zone” inside your house, which usually separate the bedrooms from the rest of your home. These layers should be practical, but at the same time make it more difficult for criminals. The secret of a working security system is to balance ease of access with control of access.

There are many ways to implement a good system and the purpose of this brochure is to provide you with practical ideas. Please note however that this is not the “alpha and omega” of security measures and does not mean that you will never have an ’incident’. Yet these suggestions WILL go a long way to help improve the general security of your home.

Security Recommendations

Higher property walls: The fence around your property should be ‘see-through’, yet difficult to climb over. Our GSP stonewalls provide easy escape routes for thieves, because once on top of them, they form a pathway to the next and the next and the next property. There are places in GSP where one has access to a dozen properties via the tops of stonewalls! These walls also provide protection for burglars because once inside, they cannot be seen. Think twice before you raise that rock wall with more rock - there are other methods that look just as good and yet make it more difficult for burglars.

Garden gates: An open gate is an invitation to your property, which is a missing layer in your security. Automatic gate motors are common these days, making it effortless for you to enter, while ensuring that the gates remain closed.

Door bells: A recent trend is for more and more people to remove their doorbells. A doorbell is not going to prevent burglars from knowing whether you are home. Your movements are far too obvious for them to need a doorbell, and they are not going to ring it. Please install a doorbell and make sure it works!

Lighting: Ideally your property should be well lit at night. A dark garden and dark house is a target for burglars. Light your garden with energy saving lights and connect them to an automatic day/night switch, so that they are on throughout the night.

Visibility: Burglars need a place to hide, so make sure you don’t provide one on your property, with poor lighting or overgrown bushes. GSP is famous for its gorgeous old trees and vegetation, but much of this provides a perfect place for criminals to lurk undetected.

Good locks: Install proper locks making sure that you’re outside doors are solid. If you have outside locks with a Y-number or N-Number, replace them. These keys are so common that some thieves carry a complete set with them. First prize would be a master key system, if you can afford it. Any barrel lock system is much harder to open than the standard door locks. Our security company can provide you with a padlock (at your cost), which will allow the Armed Reaction Officer access to your property in the event of an alarm.

Burglar bars do not always provide the protection that they are supposed to, because they are generally not strong enough. It takes less than 30 seconds to cut through 10mm square iron bars with a handsaw. If they are not properly welded into place, it is even quicker to break them off. In most “grab and run” burglaries in the GSP, burglar bars are either broken or bent. Ensure that your burglar bars are made of good quality materials, and properly fitted. If possible, create a safety cell inside your home. More often than not, burglars are only after valuables. Having a safety cell consisting of bedrooms and bathrooms add a layer of protection between you and burglars if they gain access into your home.

Good quality alarm system. Your alarm system should consist of the following items:

v A control panel situated at the entrance most used, allowing easy access to activate and deactivate when leaving or entering your home.

v Another control panel in the bedroom, so that you can activate it before going to bed, bypassing the zones where your family might be moving at night.

v Passive infrared motion detectors (PIR) in every room, especially covering your valuable items: computers, Hi-Fi’s, TV, DVD players, etc. These sense movement and trigger an alarm. There are also pet-friendly versions that will not be affected by pets in the house.

v Door triggers. These are small magnets that attach to doors and windows activating the alarm when a door or window is opened.

v Glass break sensors, especially on large glass panes, which usually do not have burglar proofing.

v Smoke detectors. These might be more important than you realise, as they could save your life. Most alarm systems have a zone for smoke detectors, which operates whether the alarm is set or not.

v Garden infrared beams. These are usually the cause of many a false alarm, but they can be a valuable early warning system if there is someone on your property. Birds and pets can trigger them, so connect them to a sounder or bell in your bedroom instead of connecting it directly to your alarm.

v Panic buttons should be connected to the radio transmitter directly, and not to the alarm system. Therefore you can activate it without the knowledge of intruders, and alert the reaction vehicle to respond.

v Remote panic buttons can easily be carried around in your pocket.

v An electric fence around your own property creates another layer, and many residents have felt a lot safer since installing one. If connected to your alarm system, please make sure that it is kept clear of trees and creepers to prevent false alarms.

Always lock your doors. This may seem obvious, but when going to bed, or vacating your premises, ensure that your doors are closed and locked! There have been regular instances when residents leave doors standing open!

Never hide keys. Burglars usually find these places - the flowerpot, on top of the door or under the carpet. They know where to look first, so just don’t do it. If you have to leave a key for someone, ask your neighbour to assist you or call the Coin vehicle.

Test your alarm regularly. Although the radio transmitters test themselves every 24 hours, it does not guarantee that the rest of your alarm system is working properly. To test your alarm:

1. Choose a time when there is minimal activity. Peak times are in the early morning and between 5 and 7 pm, so a good testing time is during the day (between 10am and 3pm) or late at night (after 8pm)

2. Call the control room (0861 80 8000) and tell them you want to test your alarm.

3. Switch your alarm on, and then walk around the house to make sure that all the zones of the alarm register on the control panel

4. Test the panics buttons separately, and make sure that the control room receives these as a different signal. Usually, in the case of a burglar alarm, the control room will first call you before sending out the car, but in the case of a panic situation, the car is dispatched first and you will not be called.

Garden tools should be locked away. The wrong people might just use a ladder, hammer or hacksaw that is easily available for the wrong purpose.

Take keys out or leave them in? If you leave your keys in the doors, it’s easier for you to escape should you be trapped inside the house with a burglar. Leaving them in and turning them all the way, also makes it very difficult to unlock the door from the outside with another key. However if you have a slight gap between the floor and the door, then you should take them out of the door. Try it yourself: Lock the door from inside, leave the key in the lock and then go outside. Slide a newspaper under the door from the outside, push the key from the outside with a twig through the lock so that it drops onto the newspaper, and pull out the newspaper. This trick is as old as the book, yet it still works every day. You can tie the key to the door handle with a short string to prevent this, or attach a very large key ring or close the gap between the floor and the door. Obviously glass door keys shouldn’t be left in the lock.

Sliding doors are an easy target for burglars, because they usually just lift out. Installing a peg or long nail through the inside and halfway through the outside door can prevent this. If you can do this top and bottom, doors cannot be lifted off their tracks. Commercial products are also available, but make sure that you get one that’s properly designed. Most of them fit with two small screws that can be broken all too easily.

When you go on holiday:

v Do not close all the curtains. It is a clear sign to any burglar walking past in daylight that you are away.

v Inform Coin. They will arrange additional patrols around your house and inspect your property regularly.

v Ask a neighbour to collect the mail. An overfilled mailbox tells a story!

v Put some lights on timers. Even one light switching on and off will give the impression that there is normal activity.

v Never leave a sign on your door to say when you will be back.

Never allow strangers into your home. We also recommend that you do not support beggars, street traders and collectors in GSP, as it creates a precedent for thieves to get inside information about your whereabouts and household.

Know and keep your domestic workers informed. There have been numerous complaints in recent years about people posing as security guards or appliance repair companies, and then intimidating the domestic workers. If you are expecting a contractor, inform your employees of their exact business and train them to contact you first if they are ever uncertain. If you see a prowler in your garden at night, don’t take out your gun and shoot! There have been too many instances when residents first shoot and then call the reaction vehicle. Apart from being illegal, this makes it difficult to catch/ arrest prowlers. Call the reaction vehicle on your cell phone, and keep an eye on the prowler from the safety of your house. Do not switch on any lights or let him know that you are aware of him. If you can, also phone your neighbours and alert them to the possibility of someone jumping into their property. Try to get a good look at the intruder. For the reaction officer in the vehicle to arrest a prowler, he needs to position the guards and himself effectively, so it is necessary to provide as much information as possible. (e.g. “The prowler is on the North East corner of my property under the oak tree. I will open the big gate for you to enter so that you can corner him near the small gate. He could jump over the back wall, so you should have a guard in King street.”) Only you will know your property that well.

Look out for markers. When burglars work in teams, markers are a method of communication. Cans, plastic bags or even stones on walls may have a meaning, and could indicate the presence of dogs, cooperating domestic staff or escape routes. If you see these signs, inform the guards so that they can investigate before you remove them.