According to the most recent crime statistics released by the SA Police Service (Saps) recently, the number of house robberies and burglaries remains alarmingly high, with 22 343 robberies and 246 654 burglaries recorded for 2016/17.
“These stats are alarming – an average of 61 households robbed and 676 households every day. And that’s only taking into account the incidents that are reported to authorities,” said Elmarie Twilley, spokesperson for Afrikaans insurance brand, Virseker.
“We urge South Africans to be more vigilant than ever in making sure that their homes are as secure as possible, not only to protect their valuables, but also themselves and their loved ones.”
Research conducted by Professor Rudolph Zinn from the University of South Africa’s school of criminal justice and police practice – who conducted in-depth interviews with 30 convicted robbers – revealed the following key insights on who these criminals are and how they operate:
- Most of these robbers were males in their early 20’s
- They typically work in groups of four
- On average, each perpetrator admitted to having committed 103 crimes
- Their main motivation was economic gain
- They select their targets based on wealth and how lucrative a crime would be
- The majority of criminals said they had inside information, often from domestic workers, gardeners or security guards
- All perpetrators said they would spend quite some time prior to the attack doing surveillance of their target
- Low security and availability of escape routes are key factors, but criminals will take on any target if they see it as valuable enough.
Late Saps stalwart, Piet Byleveld, pointed out that having a safe in your house could be especially tempting for criminals due to the high perceived value of items in a safe. He also highlighted that criminals are well aware of the police and security companies’ response times and that they operate within these limits.
Byleveld and Zinn agree that the best solution is an integrated approach with various security measures, as opposed to relying on a single layer of security. This included:
- Having small dogs inside the house that can alert you to an intruder
- Installing an electric fence around the perimeter of your property
- Installing an alarm system with sensors to warn you
- Employing an armed response service.
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