{"id":126286,"date":"2015-05-13T20:39:02","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T18:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=126286"},"modified":"2015-05-13T20:40:27","modified_gmt":"2015-05-13T18:40:27","slug":"how-to-stop-criminals-from-getting-through-your-electric-fence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/126286-how-to-stop-criminals-from-getting-through-your-electric-fence.html","title":{"rendered":"How to stop criminals from getting through your electric fence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many South African home owners and businesses rely on electric fences to keep criminals out, but weaknesses in electric fence designs allow criminals to get through or over these barriers (also see: Beware the electric fence you install<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

MyBroadband contacted security expert Riaan Coetzee from Fortis Pro Active Defence Solutions<\/a><\/strong> to find out how criminals get over or through electric fences.<\/p>\n

Coetzee said criminals frequently climb over electric fences, because they are out-of-order or are not switched on.<\/p>\n

\u201cCriminals are very clever. They know that if an electric fence doesn’t make that little click-click sound, it’s probably off. Or if the wires are hanging loosely all over the place, it’s broken,\u201d said Coetzee.<\/p>\n

Roy Botha, director at Advanced Electric Fencing<\/a><\/strong>, said criminals use a method of hitting an insulator or two off the bracket, or strike the fence wires with a piece of wood to break some wires along the electric fence.<\/p>\n

They then retreat and wait to see if there is any response. If there is no response after the alarm stops, they attempt to enter the property.<\/p>\n

Criminals also\u00a0throw rubber mats – like a car floor mat \u2013 over the fence to climb over. This may trigger an alarm if\u00a0the fence is\u00a0correctly installed.<\/p>\n

Botha said using a blanket to get over an electric fence will not work with a well designed and installed fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach strand of wire is affixed with a compression spring allowing it\u00a0to have some slack if force is applied – so much so that it will make contact with the wire below and set off the alarm in the scenario above,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cutting a fence or using crocodile clips would not work either as apart from possibly receiving a hefty 9,000V shock, somewhere along the line one wire will make contact with another and trigger the alarm.<\/p>\n

Some criminals fold parts of a rubber hose over the electrical wire strands to prevent them touching and setting off the alarm.<\/p>\n

Weak electric fence design also makes it possible for criminals to bend the fence down, and then climb over without detection.<\/p>\n

Botha said a three or four strand fence does not offer much protection. \u201cAny electric fence with flat or roundbar brackets are also easy to get over as these brackets can be bent with ease.”<\/p>\n

\u201cAny fence with horizontal bits or even at a rather flat angle, say 45 degrees, form a natural ladder. Believe me, criminals scale high fences like Olympic athletes.”<\/p>\n

The following video shows how easy it is for a criminal to climb over a poorly designed fence.<\/p>\n