Newsletter/Blog


2014-06-05
Newsflash April & May 2014


Dear Clients,

As is evident by our weekly crime stats, there has been a dramatic increase of criminal activity within our area of operation. These are posted on our web-site at www.cbar.co.za , under weekly stats, as they are updated each Friday.  As mentioned in a previous newsletter, these house robberies and armed robberies involving firearms and other weapons have increased, with some of our armed reaction officers being assaulted with deadly weapons whilst conducting responses.  I believe that the increase in crime will continue to escalate.

For the past 2 weekends the headlines in the weekend Argus have all been related to the upsurge in crime, as well as a reference to crowbar gangs and the speed at which these house break-ins occur.

Some important information;

*As many of you are aware, LPR cameras have been installed in various parts of the City Bowl area.  Information on suspicious vehicles or vehicles wanted for various criminal acts are flagged and this information is passed on to the various law enforcement agencies.  If for instance a stolen vehicle, for example, a silver BMW, has not been recovered i.e., did not have any tracking system or the tracking system was removed before recovery, the criminals in possession of such a vehicle will try to have a duplicate registration made up.

This involves scouting for a similar make, model and colour vehicle, identical to the one that has been stolen and obtaining information such as VIN number, chassis number etc. from this similar registered vehicle.  The criminals will locate this similar vehicle and break in to it to try and obtain any documentation or service book related to this vehicle, usually found in the glove compartment. 

A duplicate license will then “be made” and the stolen service book altered to a new name.  At the end of this process there will be 2 identical vehicles, with the same registration and colour driving around, one used to commit various crimes and the other could very well be registered to any law abiding citizen.  Make sure that all paperwork and service books are rather removed from the vehicle and kept safely in one’s home.

*The rapid growth in the security industry has led to many “fly by night” individuals claiming to be qualified alarm installers.  Too often, we receive calls from new and existing clients where they have used a private individual /s to install or do additions to their alarm system, which has now become problematic or non-functional.  The initial installer only operated on a cellphone number and has become uncontactable.

The CBAR technicians often, at a further expense to the client, have to affect repairs due to shoddy workmanship or replace cheap and nasty detection equipment that continuously false alarms or provides inadequate coverage.

CBAR is an approved SAIDSA (South African Intruder Detection Approved Installer) alarm installer, which means that we install according to a strict code of conduct.  This in turn means that all technicians have been vetted, are experienced and conform to acceptable standards as set down by SAIDSA, who are “the watchdog of this segment of the industry”.  Approximately 10% of installers in the Western Cape are SAIDSA approved.  When using a SAIDSA approved installer, the equipment and the installation must be of a very high standard, as shoddy equipment and installations can result in malfunctions and false alarms.  Ultimately a security system is designed to minimize the risk of loss and damage to property and in the event of a personal attack, be able to alert a third party so that the person under attack may be assisted.  Please remember an alarm system is designed to detect and deter, but can never guarantee against an intrusion.

*Window of opportunity:  in every break-in there will always be a window of opportunity, this starts the moment the intrusion begins.  If the alarm is fully functional the trigger should be immediate, unless access is gained via the entry “front” door.  This front door usually has a maximum permissible entry delay of no more than 30 seconds to allow the user to enter and deactivate the alarm.  Once the alarm has triggered the signal is then sent to our control room and the controller will phone the premises from whence the signal has been received, as 99% of alarm activations are caused by user error or the alarm being triggered falsely.  If there is no reply at the premises or an incorrect password is given, the armed response will be dispatched.

The bottom line is, that assuming from start to finish a response takes 6 minutes, which is well within the 15 minutes dictated by SAIDSA, the criminals have had 5 minutes to take as much as possible before fleeing the scene.  This is exactly the Modus Operandi used by various crowbar gangs that are operating.  Front gates, security gates and front doors are broken into using crowbars and within a few minutes a number of intruders rush into the premises, each looking for flat screen TV’s, electronic goods, cash, jewelry, firearms and cellphones.  I recommend that before leaving for work, valuables such as laptops, jewelry etc. left lying around, be placed out of sight and concealed where possible and thus being out of direct sight of an intruder.

Please note that panic activations, as opposed to alarm activations are accorded a higher priority and the moment a panic signal is received, a vehicle is dispatched.  A phone call is made to the premises simply to establish what the emergency is.  Should there be no answer or an incorrect password is given, the vehicle already dispatched will arrive momentarily.

*Be aware that all alarm systems run off mains power.  I.e. the transformer is plugged into a wall socket.  If there is a power failure, of which I am certain there will be this winter, as Eskom have already made promises to this effect, your alarm system will then switch over to its battery backup / power pack to ensure it continues to function.  The more sensors on a system and the longer the cable runs, the more current the alarm system will draw.  Should the voltage on a 12 volt battery backup drop below 10.5 volts or the amps of the battery drop too low, the battery backup will not sustain the alarm system, nor trigger a radio transmitter and our control center will not receive the alarm signal.  If you are in any doubt about your battery backup please contact our technical department for assistance in this regard on 0860 151515.

With the onset of winter, a number of fortunate clients leave for overseas.  Please ensure that CBAR has received either via fax or email, an updated key holder list, of persons who may be contacted in their absence and are prepared to be called out to give access to a premises, should the need arise.

** Alarm and technical special.

For the month of June CBAR will offer a 15% discount on all technical installations and upgrades to alarm systems and service calls will be charged at R350.00 (Incl) as opposed to our standard R399.00 (Incl).

Furthermore, a 15% discount will be applied to all quotations supplied since the 1st April 2014 that have not yet been accepted.  Please make use of this discounted opportunity.

CBAR also does installations of CCTV and intercom systems.

Visit our website on www.cbar.co.za  for all current incidents and statistics.

CBAR, 24 hours a day, only minutes away!

 

Kind regards and best wishes

 

Alan Kusevitsky and the CBAR Team

 



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