Don’t give the robber a chance

Some tips to fight crime at home

By M.S.A. Rahim

The country is facing a grave problem with crimes such as contract killings, highway robberies, abductions, rapes and burglaries on the rise. Serious thought must be given to minimise or eliminate crime.

As a retired Chief Inspector, I feel my experience in the Police Department may be of help to the public. Various are the ingenious methods adopted by seasoned criminals to commit burglaries. But if we meticulously follow the following guidelines or precautions, we could, to a great extent, minimize the chances of becoming hapless victims.

• Be extraordinarily alert over persons who have occasion to come to your house, like the milk vendors, meter-readers, cobblers, umbrella-repairers, knife and scissor sharpeners, buyers of old newspapers, beggars, soothsayers (including the gypsy tribe) and other such persons, some of whom may even play on your compassion by appealing to you for some water and vanish with some of your valuables while you go to fetch it.
• Lodge your excess cash, jewellery and other valuables at a bank. Don’t display much affluence, for it attracts burglars.
• When you and your family have to be away for a long or indefinite period, keep the local police informed. On such occasions, it is best to get a reliable person or neighbour to look after your premises. (The ideal situation would be to keep such a person in the house).
• Make it a point to have some identification marks on your valuables and keep a written record of all the numbers, brand names and models of the household items such as sewing machines, washing machines, computers, refrigerators, radios, televisions and bicycles so that the information could be given to the police in case of any loss. Similarly, cars, motor cycles, vans, tractors, etc, too should be kept in a secure garage.
• Before employing domestic aides, obtain as much information of the person(s) as possible, with their addresses, antecedents, and other details that would facilitate the police to trace them when wanted, or better still have them screened by the local Police before employment or soon after.
• Ensure your domestic aides or other casual visitors, however trustworthy they may be, are not aware of where you keep your cash and other valuables, keys of iron safe, almirahs, drawers etc., and do not leave such items carelessly to fall into unauthorized hands. Some obtain soap or wax impressions of them to get duplicate keys made.
• If you can afford it get a thief proof alarm installed in your house to alert the inmates or neighbours of any intruder.
• Before leaving your house, make sure that all the windows, doors and fanlights are securely locked. On your return too, it is best to verify if everything in your house is intact; don’t fail to check on the unusual, if any.
• Before retiring to bed too, as a general rule, be certain all doors and windows are securely locked. Ensure that there are no intruders hiding under beds, in bathrooms and other obscure places in the house, for there have been numerous instances of burglaries committed by such thieves, when the inmates were asleep.
• All glass panel windows should be secured with iron grills as GI or wooden bars can be wrenched off or sawn with a hacksaw, and the glass-panel too can be cut or broken, to gain entry.
• Bear in mind not to have the front door or rear door key of your house, inwardly on the keyhole for an experienced burglar can retrieve it with some contrivance from outside, on to a piece of paper inserted under the door, and the paper with the key cleverly drawn out, and then used to open the door from outside.
• Before getting absorbed in a long conversation at a “bottle-party”, and indoor game or listening to an interesting radio or TV programme, ensure the doors and windows of the unmonitored section of your house are securely locked, as many burglaries have taken place during such times, to the surprise and consternation of the inmates themselves.
• When switching off lights of a house, office, workshop or other business establishment, make it a point to keep on at least one or two as security lights.
• Shutters of stores and shops should be secured with iron bars and strong padlocks, or with iron collapsible shutters. The roof should be made thief proof.
• If suspicious persons are seen prowling about, promptly communicate with the local police by phone or other means. Watch for persons who may be, under some pretext or other, studying the routine and movements of the inmates.
• While family members are preoccupied with their respective work, watch for any hustle, bustle or other unusual sound or noise, either in another section of the house or in the vicinity, ascertain its cause, and from where it comes, for it may be a thief at work. Remember “a stitch in time saves nine”.
• If there is a telephone, ensure it is always in working order and keep at hand, all telephone numbers of important establishments like the police, hospital etc., to promptly contact in an emergency.
• Especially in the main door, have a 3 to 4 inch diameter round, glass-paned peephole, with an inwardly wooden sliding aperture to verify any caller at the door, and switch on a step light before opening the door. Many people who had opened the door without verifying the caller have become unfortunate victims of burglary, rape, murder and other crimes.
• Do not leave within easy reach things like ladders, rope, crossbars, knives, axes and other such articles that may help such persons in the commission of crime.
• When planning a house, provide for clear visibility from any angle, to help identify the approach of persons especially through the main entrance.

(The writer is a Retired Chief Inspector of Police)