QUARTERLY SECURITY ARTICLES

THE WEAKEST LINK: HOW SAFE ARE SECURITY ESTATES?

Estate living has become a national trend in South Africa for those seeking a secure lifestyle and working environment. Unfortunately there has been an escalation of intrusions into these estates and research indicates that they are considered soft targets by criminals.

Security surveys have shown that traditional security methods are no longer effective against the level of crime currently being experienced, as criminals have worked out ways and means of breaching these systems. Corruption and intimidation of security services is evident. Crime syndicates have become professional organisations, highly skilled and lethal. The sophistication of experienced criminals, who carry out their own reconnaissance to find new ways of breaching security systems, is underestimated. Residents, believing they are safe, often become complacent making them even more vulnerable. These intrusions can lead to more serious crimes like housebreaking, rape, assault and murder. Victims of crime often have a knee jerk reaction to an intrusion, resulting in piecemeal security measures.

Intrusion tests and investigations of real intrusions have highlighted the ease with which perimeter security systems are breached. Time taken to breach these security barriers is generally under 30 seconds, and not longer than  2 minutes.

Due to budgetary constraints, developers and home owner associations often consider only price constraints when deciding on the level of security required. They seek free advice from security sales consultants or contractors who may have good knowledge on their particular products/services but seldom have the expertise and are not in the position to give objective advice on holistic security planning. The true security consultant should not be a systems or man power salesman.

To save money and maximize profits, developers often settle for superficial, symbolic security in the form of sub-standard electric fences and guards. Investors are becoming disillusioned as the ongoing intrusions are causing property values to drop and, in some cases, residents have opted to invest in private homes in order to achieve a higher level of security.

A chain is only as strong as its “weakest link”. This is true in the planning, design and installation of security systems. No matter how sophisticated the system or how strong the barrier, if badly designed, the whole system will fail.

Heavy investments in expensive fencing, electric fencing and high-tech security systems are made, only to discover that criminals have identified the “weakest links” and are easily bypassing them, using scissor jacks to force open palisade fences, digging under and climbing over electric fences. Electric wires are cut using rubber gloves and insulated wire cutters. Conventional beam installations are easily breached or bypassed. Photos and video footage of these scenarios are plentiful. An experienced consultant will be aware of the modus operandi of criminals and the weaknesses of individual products and will be able take the necessary measures to rectify the shortcomings.

Research has shown that over 60% of intrusions are directly or indirectly related to the inside job. No matter how good the security system is, it is only as effective as the integrity of the human element. The only way to neutralize this risk is by counter intelligence measures which need to be planned and implemented by professionals in this field.

The appointment of an independent consultant, as part of the development design team, is essential at the early stages of planning. He/she will assess the situation objectively, investigate the most appropriate options and can save the developer and homeowners’ substantial costs.

As with anything in life, it is better to get it right the first time.