This evening we had a community get together meeting which was surprisingly well attended with 30-35 people. This is out of 93 properties so the turnout was the most I have seen over the years. The last get together was over a year ago and these should happen more often. For some new property owners this was their first meeting and the good part is they at least pitched. Those who did not attend are either embarrassed by not contributing monthly to the costs which is R600 ($35) per household or have no interest or are tenants renting a property.
This is kind of mind blowing knowing that the properties in our "secure" guarded zone come at a premium and are in demand. The 93 properties are roughly 25% more valuable due the security and buyers will pay the premium price tag. I have only known of a handful of properties in the secure area to hit the market as most are sold immediately before they even hit realtors books.
Tonight it was revealed that during the months of November, December and January even some of the regular monthly contributors had skipped their payments. This I found rather telling as times are tough for families with the struggling economy hitting everyone's pockets. You would think $35 is nothing and it does not matter that you live in a upper class area as families have no disposable income and are straddled by debt. Maybe things are so tight it is the difference between having a Christmas budget or skip the security payments.
The one part about tonight I found oddly weird is our guards have panic buttons linked to armed response which is for the guards. Some households who have been affected by the certain criminal activities have asked the guards to push the button on their behalf. This is most likely the households not paying their monthly contributions who do not have their own armed response contract.
In South Africa insurance companies stipulate if you want your household contents covered you have to have an armed response contract. These properties are piggybacking off the community and tonight this was stopped as this service is for the guards if they ever need assistance. Armed response companies cannot enter properties they are not contracted to service as we have had some security people shot by other security companies due to confusion.
Tomorrow we will be listing and checking all the properties that have security weaknesses which there are many. There is a reason why certain properties are hit regularly as they are seen as the easier option. This is probably why our properties have never been a crime stat as security is simply common sense. Make sure your property is more secure than your neighbor and you should be fine. We have an electric fence which I do think is over kill, but when you have properties with nothing then you still need to be alert. This petty thief is finding his way in via the properties that back on to the border of our secure zone so if they are a weak point then the so called "secure zone" is hardly secure.
Below is a prime example of just this point as barbed wire is no deterrent to a criminal and a pair of wire cutters.
There is no hope for some properties so why communicate with the criminal and warn him of your intentions. Keep quiet and let him continue whilst notifying the armed response which takes roughly 3 minutes. Sad really as very little common sense is used and this particular thief should have been caught long ago.
