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JesseG

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Okay, I am sure that it has happened to a few people here on the forum....
We had an attempted break in last Thursday while we were at home sleeping....
First attempt was at 2:15am, I was awake and heard some noises and brushed it off as being a cat, still phoned security company to come through and do a check, nothing was found.....
Went to bed at 3:00am and only to be woken up by the sound of shattering glass at 4:15am the same morning, my room window was broken.....
He/They got scared and ran away.....I have not had a good nights sleep since.....
I am busy upgrading our home security and raising the boundary walls.....
It is a scary experience given the amount and violent and senseless crime in SA....
So yeah, now I mainly keep my bro's firearm with me until like 4am and then wake him up for the next shift.....
 
A guy entered my property on the 11th of May.
He stole my copper pipe and tap and sold it that same day for R80 at the scrap yard.
The policeman caught him at the scrap yard the next day as he was selling some more stuff.

On the 13th of May, 3 boys jumped my fence and sat in my yard for 20 minutes (caught on the neighbours CCTV).
The stole the number from my house and probably came back for the rest of the copper pipes but I bought some padlocks on the Monday to lock my other gates where my dogs are, so they decided not to go in.
These guys were not caught because the CCTV footage was not clear enough.

I went to court last week Thursday because the guy that was caught at the scrap yard decided to fight the case by stating that someone else gave him the pipes and his involvement was to merely walk to the scrap yard with it and sell it only. The interpreter did not pitch up and the case was postponed because the African defense attorney could not speak English or Afrikaans.

So why TF do they appoint an attorney that cannot speak English, or Afrikaans to a guy that lives in an Afrikaans town?


Anyway, I do not think that raising your boundary walls will help much. It will only make it more difficult for your neighbours to check what is going on in your property.
 
Higher walls may assist burglars as no one on the outside can see the goings on inside. So I've heard.
 
@CamiKaze thanks for responding.....
I'm afraid my neighbours are not the type that will lend a hand when sh** hits the fan.....
It really won't make a difference, the thing is I would rather have my yard more secure and more of a hassle for these guys to think about breaking in, versus the rest of the houses in our area....
 
kang said:
Higher walls may assist burglars as no one on the outside can see the goings on inside. So I've heard.
Click to expand...

I've heard this too. Though to be fair I don't think anyone from the outside pays much attention to begin with anyway. So argument is a little mute...
 
kang said:
Higher walls may assist burglars as no one on the outside can see the goings on inside. So I've heard.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like I said, our neighbours won't help really.....
Our neighbour's haven't even asked us yet if we are okay after the attempted break in.....
 
The only things that might help are dogs and electric fences with beams that are linked to your alarm system.
As for guns, a criminal has more rights than the hardworking taxpayer so you will be the one ending up in jail for protecting your family.
 
Get a good electric fence and external passives ...
 
yeah, having some beams installed soon.....
as for electric fencing, not sure if this load shedding makes it a viable option....
 
JesseG said:
About these starwalls, they could get over by throwing a blanket over it? right????
Click to expand...

Rotating spikes??? It'd need to be one extremely thick blanket, rofl!

If you're in a problem crime area, best long-term solution is to sell and move before it gets worse, rather than sink R100 000 into security that won't help ultimately.
 
Well, now this is my one area of speciality/hobby - security :)

So the best thing is to have as early a warning that something is wrong as possible.

Perimeter:
So first of, as you indicated, you are looking at the perimeter. Raising the wall might help but it limits visibility from neighbours as stated, so just consider your specific property and its layout when doing that. Something to deter them from going over the wall is good.

Razor wire is good but can be easy to cut away. Those rotating spikes are also good, as are "Razor ribbon" as below which is more sturdy than razor wire:

razorRibbon.jpg

But the best perimeter deterrent is a properly installed electric fence, that will trigger a siren when tampered with. It doesn't use a lot of power and has battery backup and can easily handle loadshedding.

Obviously a combination of razor wire/ribbon and electric fence is even better. Also make sure to secure the motor gate as it can be a weak point, if a sliding one it mustn't be able to be lifted of the tracks and such.

Yard layer:
Here also having at least 2 layers of deterrent is best and the study of Dr Rudolph Zinn of UNISA, where he interviewed criminals, states what are good deterrents, go look is up.

Dogs - they bark and can bite, one learns their different barks, they can also see outside the yard so can be a beyond perimeter warning system.
Yard beams - there are many types, can be linked to house alarm and turned on even when they internal alarm sensors is off when one is home to warn one of something in the yard.
Lighting - must light the yard and not really the house. Enables oneself to more easily notice anyone outside, as well as the dogs will see better too. Can be on all the time or be motion activated.
Gravel strip - around house or perimeter wall can be useful for alerting you of someone outside the building or the dogs outside or inside.
CCTV cameras - enables one to see what is going on outside if you hear something or the dogs bark or whatever, 4 cameras systems go for about R4000 to R5000

House layer:
Burglar proofing - strong burglar bars and security doors (that are locked!)
Alarm- internal alarm that's active outside the sleeping areas
Secure zone - maybe a strong security gate separating bedroom area from living room area, depending on house layout.

Remember to have smoke detectors fitted (like R150 each a Builders) and fire extinguishers, one does not want to be trapped in your own house by a fire that is already raging out of control.
 
Get cameras and sensor lights you want it dark outside but when the lights come on that is when you know someone is outside.
 
Yeah, sensor lights is an option, but when you are asleep, how you going to wake up when it turns on...
 
supersunbird said:
That's why I say more than one layer for the yard, the lights on own wont be good enough
Click to expand...

All wonderful advice and much appreciated.....But ultimately I will sell and move my family to a less crime infested area....
 
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