Who's in the House

There has been an increased rate of house burglary in the northern states of Malaysia. Most of the cases happen during night time and also when the owners of the houses are not around. In some unfortunate cases, valuable items such as jewellery, laptops, mobile phones and other precious items have been stolen. In fact, sadly, some victims lost their lives when the burglars were aggressive and got panicked. This kind of crime creates problems for many house owners and need to be solved through preventive measures taken by the house owners, neighbourhood watch and heavy police patrol around residence areas.

The first practical solution is by taking preventive measures by the house owners. This means that all doors and windows should be properly closed and locked before leaving the house. You should also inform your newspaper vendor to stop delivering any papers while you and your family are on holidays. Uncollected newspapers in your mail box indicates ‘an empty house’. It is also advisable to install security alarms or closed circuit television (CCTV) at strategic doors or windows of your house. Any overgrown hedges or bushes should be trimmed so that your house does not look secluded from the public. Most of these preventive measures may distract or avoid potential burglars from targeting your house.

The second recommended solution is to organize neighbourhood watch to ensure safety of its residents. Good cooperation and commitment among the residents to take their turns in patrolling their housing areas may help reduce the number of house burglary. Any intruders or burglars will be afraid to do their criminal activities as the houses are ‘under surveillance’. Normally, the residents would form few groups to observe and watch certain areas at certain time at night. As a result, the residents could sleep soundly and peacefully. Thus, neighbourhood watch does not just encourage close relationship among the community, but it also greatly