Spate of break-ins

Due to some low rate of payouts among residents, the local residents association security guards service has been terminated in my area. Along with that, the spate of break-ins has increased.

One month after the termination, there was a spate of break-ins, three houses, just in my row alone and there aren’t that many houses in a row. Most of the break-ins occur around noon. That is when the houses are empty as most residents are out. Even those who are normally in may be out at this time for lunch, to fetch school going kids from school etc. That is when the thieves strike.

Just before the school holidays, there was a snatch theft right outside my kid’s kindergarten. Two ladies were walking by when a man on a bike tried to snatch one of the ladies’ handbag. The lady pulled back in ernest and threw her bag into the kindergarten where some teachers and some kids were waiting for their parents to pick them up. It was around noon.

The thief climbed over the kindy fence to retrieve the bag. A school teacher shouted at him. He climbed out again, minus the bag and a motorist hit him on his escaping bike (I am not sure whether it was on purpose but if it was, kudos to the motorist), his bike fell over and he made his escape on foot.

All this despite a newly errected guard house on the other side of the road of the kindy clearly within earshot. However, the guards’ (there were 2 or 3 around at the time of the incident) job was to guard the other side of the road for paying residents and not this side of the road for non-paying residents so……

We are not safe anymore. Time to go and review your homeowners insurance.

Make sure you have enough contents coverage under your homeowners insurance. Photograph or videotape your home and contents and keep those photos.

In case of a break-in, make sure you take photos of the scene with your digital camera. That is the good thing about digital cameras. Take all photos of the evidence so that it is easier for you to claim on your homeowners insurance later on.

However, the best thing you can do is to invest in the safety of your home. Get locks, alarms etc. We were told by the housing residents association members that the break-in thefts mostly target homes without alarms and locks that can be easily cut open or those that leave their front gates unlocked. Sometimes the thieves just walk right in, break a simple lock or grill and drive off with a whole load of electrical equipment and other expensive gadgets.