Cape Town - Safety groups have urged people to take extra safety measures over the festive period when there is a spike in home invasions that are likely due to people visiting family and friends and leaving homes vulnerable.
Insurance company Auto & General’s head, Ricardo Coetzee, said statistics showed there was a 33% increase in home invasions in the week between Christmas and New Year alone.
He said there was also a significant shift in how criminals gained entry (when compared to the month of December in pre-Covid-19 times) with more robbers gaining access through a front or back door, as opposed to through a window.
“This could indicate that, with more people opting to stay at home, criminals would rather pounce on doors that are left unsecured or use tactics like impersonating a delivery person or technician to gain easier entry,” he said.
Coetzee said night-time incidents, occurring between 6pm and 6am, increased by 10% during December and about 10% of incidents get reported more than two days after they happen, which was an indicator of insufficient alert systems.
Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith also encouraged people to take measures to safeguard their homes especially during the festive season.
“Where possible, try to get a house-sitter who can look after the property in your absence, or a neighbour who can keep an eye on things, switch on lights or open windows and remove any mail that may accumulate in the mailbox.
“Alternatively, ensure that you have an alarm system that is linked to armed response,” said Smith.
Smith also encouraged people to inform their Neighbourhood Watch or Armed Response company of their movements so that they could arrange extra patrols around those properties.
Police spokesperson Frederick Van Wyk urged the public to keep all doors locked, not to leave spare keys hidden outside their homes, and ensure that pets were fed while people were away.
He added that people should not drive away before gates had closed and refrain from getting out of vehicles when reaching home before the gates closed.
“With some good planning and all these precautions in place, your festive season has a much better chance to be completely drama free,” said Coetzee.