I can not agree more! I don't want to know if someone is already in my house, I am then completely vulnerable and have only seconds to react. How silly is that? Even way back when I was still on the ball and in training with a sniper, it was no plan, so what about now when I am completely rusty? Plus it is boring to get your gun out every night and putting it away in the morning.
After a spade of burglaries in our 'hood, I decided enough was enough, and my hubby and I decided that we would put on our criminal caps, and see what makes certain houses attractive. Firstly they love the dark and bushy gardens, lots of hidy holes. Walls around your house is also very attractive, they can hide behind it, and there is the new method on the market, fence running & jumping. They also don;t like noise.
My hubby did our own alarm system, and I promise you, you can not set foot on our property without lights flashing and alarms screaming. On the perimeters of our property, not in the house though we have that too. That made a lot of sense and was a very cheap option, though I don't understand the techy stuff that he did. I only know that when the alarm goes off there is a box where I can see where someone tripped the alarm, so that I can pin-point location.
Also the response time of the security companies remain a problem, so we had to come up with a better plan. I did very quick research on the suburbs where crime is rife and when you drive through these areas the one thing you don't see in the streets is movement. It is very quiet.
In the old days when we just moved in, we were on the outskirts of Pta, so it was literally a question of taming the West, and we were 4 who used to storm out with our guns on a count-down no less. But us 4 knew what we were doing and trusted each other, we worked well together and no one was trigger happy. We just chased the criminals off, never did we need to fire off a shot.
However, today things look different and we are supposed to become the new center of Pretoria, we are completely built-up and just off Zambesi Drive. We had to come up with a new plan.
I called a meeting in the park, and we discussed reaction plans, worked everything out, so that we could patrol our own space. We all know the police is under-sourced, I have called only to be told they had no vechicles, or they had vehicles but no petrol. It is not their fault. So we have to step up and take responsibility for our own safety.
Fortunately I insisted on a dry run, as I did not know a lot of the people in the 'hood, and I had visions of running into a neighbour, high on adrenaline, responding to the alarm, and have him shoot me!
The dry run was an absolute flop! The man that had to sound the alarm, forgot to do so as he had visitors from over-seas, so we all sat outside with our whistles and cell phones in hand, waiting for an alarm that never came. Eventually we got him on the phone, and then then alarm sounded!
The first thing I saw as I rounded the corner was my one ouk with brandy in one hand and gun in the other. He made the perfect target as he had taken his shirt off and was wearing a glow-in-the-dark nipple ring. Total chaos ensued, and I had two guys down my street who acted out every scene they had ever seen in a movie, they were ducking and weaving behind cars and bushes, and I sat on the corner hosing myself! I could do nothing, I was lame with laughter and had no legs.
After many a meeting we came up with something that worked for us, where we do use the whistles and only some people are aloud to go outside. I also encouraged the people not to sit in their houses, but to go for walks and bicycle rides so that we now have a busy 'hood. Visibility is key, and when we meet in the park, the word does spread that we are active. We don't have burglaries anymore, yet we remain vigilant.
I hope this helps. And you know what? Doing it for yourself is a lot of fun and it is empowering. We now know all our neighbours and the whole feel has changed. It is a really nice play to live.
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