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Lessons Learned From a Five Minute Burglary

It only takes 5 minutes to rob you

Years ago I saw a car being stolen in under a minute from my driveway while I stood frozen in disbelief at my kitchen window.

I was reminded of this while watching a video entitled Five minute burglary where robbers got into a home near my suburb and left with all the portable valuables in under five minutes.

The similarities between the two robberies were that:

  • There was a team of criminals, each one with a job to do;
  • They were very practised and went about their work quickly and efficiently;
  • And automatic driveway gates in both robberies proved no match for these experienced crooks.

Another striking point about these incidences was that the criminals didn’t show any fear. They knew what they had to do and how to do it.

In both cases, they appeared calm and unconcerned about being caught in the act.

In the video, the criminals are seen in the driveway getting into their vehicle while another car drives past. They remain unhurried, getting into the car and driving off calmly.

I’m not sure whether this is a sign of their professionalism or an indication that they’re pretty sure they’ll get away with their misdeeds because our police services can’t cope, or perhaps both.

Either way, it seems it is up to us to protect ourselves against this sort of invasion of our private spaces.

 

An image of a fixed security gate.

 

So what did I learn from these unfortunate events?

  1. Attach a bracket over the automatic gate motor and fit an anti-theft bracket on the gate to avoid tampering.

  2. Make sure every window and door in the house is protected with the best burglar proofing and security gates you can afford.

  3. Make sure security gates have the strongest locks available. Sometimes there will be four or five strong men attempting to lever the lock away from the strike jamb using crow bars and other tools, so that lock must hold for as long as possible!

  4. Keep your security barriers locked at all times, even if you’re only going out for a minute or two. All the security in the world isn’t going to help you if you don’t close and lock it.

  5. If you’re going to be in the garden or working outside, hang a panic button on a lanyard around your neck.

  6. Test the response time of your armed security provider if you have one. It’s no good if they take 10 minutes to get to you when these burglaries take two to five minutes.

A good place to start with getting your home secured against this happening to you isto contact your nearest Trellidor franchise and ask for a free security assessment. You’ll end up with a plan of action and start protecting everything you’ve worked so hard for.

Guest blogger

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