Securing your home – Laying a Foundation

You may have heard the phrase: Safety begins in the home. Well, that’s not always true.

Where it started for me

I think it was in 1995 if my memory serves me correctly. I was privileged to attend a seminar and what I learned in those 5hrs and 30 mins left my mind running wild with amazement and a hunger to learn more.

One of the topics covered in the seminar was titled: Securing your home. What I learnt in that very short time completely changed the look I had on security and realised that security was an industry that was growing faster than I ever imagined. I had then realised that I had to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could, or I will lose my way in this industry.

On the day of the seminar, my desire to make a good impression and the hope of maybe winning a position in a better company or even a recommendation was soon shattered when I found myself surrounded by sharks. Men and women with 15 plus years in the police force. Others had military backgrounds and there were even lawyers. I realised that I was just a goldfish in a shark’s world.

So at 07:15, I found myself sitting in the front seat armed with a notepad and a blunt pencil. I thought “Seriously, could that day get any worse?” My Siemens S10 Active would have to be my backup plan. Even though it was so big that it came all the way up past my ear from my shirt’s pocket I could use the record function it had. With the image of G.I Joe in my mind, I was ready. Or at least I thought I was – man was I wrong.

Spilled coffee

I was on the edge of my seat with a cup of coffee that was served at the front entry. I was prepared to make sure this security specialist knew off the bat that he had all my attention. Lo and behold, I lost that coffee all over my shirt when this young beautiful lady dressed in a corporate suit came walking in. So not what I expected. After introducing herself the first thing she said was: “If you think you are going to impress me, don’t even try.” Well, that burst my bubble.

Weeks passed after my ordeal but the words that were spoken that day was burning like fire in my memory. How could a young lady know so much? I was jealous. Anyway, I thought after the embarrassment of spilling a hot cup of coffee over myself and screaming like a pig being led to the slaughter I decided to put what I learnt to the test. After I had tested what I had learned I realised that most of my life I never took note of the trash bag on my sidewalk or the stones that were stacked up on top of each other. Not even the bottle that was lying there, the thought never crossed my mind that there could be a deeper meaning.

I learnt that I was not the only one that didn’t see the importance of this. I have no desire to draw smoke where there is no fire. But the truth is a strong offence is only possible if a good defence is in place. And preparing for the worst-case scenario enables you to always have a better defence.

Establishing a baseline

So how do you secure your home? Well, we will get into that in the blogs that will follow, however, I want to establish a baseline and would like to start off by asking a few very important questions. These questions are necessary because they can help us to adopt the right habits and could change our mindset. In today’s times, it’s imperative, as the sad reality is that the only people that are concerned for your safety and the safety of your loved ones is you.

Before we get into the questions I want to share some facts with you, statistics have shown that more than 60% of home invasions, break-ins, farm attacks etc. were planned. In other words, those properties were studied, watched and MARKED. Criminals collect information like:

• How many children are in the home?
• What dogs do the owners have?
• Are they aggressive?
• Are they obedient?
• Is there a domestic worker on the property?
• Will she give inside information?
• Is she loyal to the homeowner?
• Is the gardener loyal?
• What time do the kids leave for school?
• Do both parents work?
• Times are recorded. Routines are strategically monitored.
• Do the workers have their own keys?
• Are they familiar with the dogs?
• How long it takes the homeowners to and from work?

All these things are studied before an attack is planned. In more than 75% of break-ins that occur, the perpetrators have inside information. When we fall victim to crime we ask ourselves “Why me?”

How did they know where my safe is or where I keep my firearm? Why did they ask me to show them where I hide my money? How did they know the window in my spare bedroom doesn’t latch? How did they know they could get in there? How could they possibly have known all these things? How is this possible?

The sad reality is, many of us trust the people that work for us too easily. She has been with me for many years. Her son works in my garden. He grew up in front of me. I can trust them as they have never stolen from me. But we have allowed our dogs to get familiar with them, we let them see where we leave our purse or wallet, we allow them to see the location of our safe even where we keep our firearm, how we lock the doors or where the doors keys are kept, what is in our storeroom in the garage? Of course, this is a generalisation and you do find people who are very trustworthy but do not trust anyone without doing your due diligence.

STOP

So that brings me to the questions I mentioned earlier. How well do you know your neighbourhood? The street you live in or your neighbours?

Relax I’m not going to ask you to start studying them. Why is it important to know your neighbourhood or the street you live in? Because when you start to familiarise yourself with the people and cars in your neighbourhood or street even your neighbours; it becomes easier to see when something is out of place or someone doesn’t belong. For example, suddenly you start noticing a man lying under a tree across from your home every day or a woman and her children sitting and eating a take out in front of your home every day. Or there is a homeless man pushing his trolly past your home or pretending to be going through your dustbin, these are all possibilities that your home is being watched.

Tip

Just because it looks innocent, it doesn’t mean that it is. The person sitting across your home on the sidewalk may look harmless but to do nothing could cost you everything.

So what should you do about it? Well, you don’t need to panic but what you can do is observe and remember the word STOP. Just observe, take note of things like:

• Are they there every day?
• What time do they arrive?
• What time do they leave?
• Is it the same person every day.

By doing this you are training your mind to become more observant. It’s for me so very important that you realise that although this may sound like a line from a movie, the fact is that our country is in a very bad place. The unemployment rate is so high resulting in crime growing faster than you or I realise. If I can prevent anyone from falling victim to a house break-in or home invasion, then I am grateful.

Conclusion

Your home, the beautiful car you drive, that huge flatscreen TV that you and your family watch movies on over the weekend, that R20,000 smartphone or laptop you bought, not to mention the 1000s of rands you have spent on the tools and equipment you have bought over the years in your garage or storeroom. The money you have been saving up for your children’s future. These are the things that make you a target, these are just some of the items criminals want.

You may have worked a job you hate for many years, put in hours of overtime over weekends and holidays. Time away from your family and many sleepless nights spent to achieve this life – a life you and your loved ones richly deserve. My desire is that you will allow me to give you the knowledge you need to protect not only your livelihood but your loved ones too.

The reality is that more than 50% of home invasions result in violence and loss of life, and that’s a priceless irreplaceable loss. Don’t become part of these statistics. Take action now.

Read more about this topic in the following articles:

• STOP
• Securing your home – Setting a baseline
• Safety around the home.
• Your home has been marked for a break-in.
• Identifying easy entries.
• Procedures to prevent a home invasion.
• Thinking like a criminal why is that important.
• Entering your property. The do’s and don’ts.
• Keeping your home safe without spending a fortune.