“Urban crime legend” – Marking of homes by attackers

You live in South Africa, if you didn't know before you should know now that the crime rate is very high and some of us still believe that criminals cannot be incredibly creative and tactile. What was once called an “urban crime legend” is now proving to be cold, hard fact.

The “legend” is the marking of homes of victims by the attackers; the attackers use this to give information about the people living inside the home and the home securities that they have. There are a variety of different markings that the attackers leave in front of your home to send messages, some include:     
                    - Cans
                    - Empty bottles
                    - Leaves with markings
                    - Piles of stones
                    - Plastic packets
                    - Shoe soles
                    - Paint marks

Often these markings are not noticeable and may not seem suspicious at all, you need to make sure you, your family and your friends are informed properly about safety, especially in a country where there is a lot of crime.

Keep in mind that not all litter in front of your home means you have been marked, the wind could have blown some rubbish onto your lawn or someone could've just left an empty bottle lying around. If you ever find any of these markings in front of your home first think about your neighbor break-in and crime history, but even if it’s just litter it’s always safer to just pick it up! Here are some of the crime codes in the UK: 

Most of us South Africans believe that owning a dog will protect you and your home, they are wrong! Criminals can easily lace meat with a poison like rat poison or insecticides, feed it to your dog and then wait for your pet to become sick, allowing them to attack your home.

In South Africa you cannot rely on the poor man’s alarm system(a dog) to protect yourself, your family and your home, you need to keep your eyes open for markings remove them immediately, throw them away and then notify your neighbours. 

Get in touch with SIS - Security Investigation services if you want to ensure you and your belongings are safe the right way, they offer guarding, farm protection and technical and security services.

Written By: Christine Romans