Boosting your home security is a great idea, and many of us are forced to do something due to past break-ins or general neighbourhood crime. However, a lot of crime can also be attributed to carelessness. As a home owner in South Africa, it’s your responsibility to be cautious in other ways. Fortunately, these strategies won’t cost you a cent.
1. Get to know your neighbours
An aspect of our society that has changed over the past few decades is that people don’t understand the concept of community anymore. A community looks out for each other, and this is one of the most powerful deterrents against crime. If you or your neighbours are going on holiday, it helps to know that someone will be keeping an eye out for suspicious activity in or around your unoccupied house.
Greeting your neighbours in passing isn’t the same as getting to know them on a personal basis. This doesn’t mean you have to become best friends with your neighbours, but it helps to be on friendly terms with them. When you know your neighbours, you will quickly identify unusual activity, strange cars and people you don’t recognise.
2. Be careful what you throw out
Have you recently bought a new flat screen television? People buy expensive electronic devices all the time, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when you leave the box for that device outside your house, you are notifying criminals that you have something worth stealing in your home. This encourages burglaries, so be careful what you throw out. Instead, tear the packaging up and either dump it yourself, or render it unrecognisable in your bin.
3. Don’t display what you own
Closing your curtains can make a huge difference to the probability of being broken into. Community watch programs are continually warning residents that leaving their curtains open leaves them exposed to criminal intel. It’s not likely that you will be burglarised if criminals haven’t established that you’re a worthwhile target, so keep them guessing.
4. Keep your windows closed
Many break-ins because residents are negligent in closing their windows. If you’re leaving your home for 20 minutes or longer, ensure that all your windows are closed and locked. Petty crime is more common than expert burglary, so deter these petty criminals and keep your house sealed on all points. Remember that even the smallest opening can be leveraged, so don’t take any chances when it comes to windows.