In South Africa, although generally in the more coastal areas, so KZN and the Cape raise your hands and the roof, we have the untold pleasure (yes, we saw your eye-roll, our long suffering local) of being a holiday hot spot and having to fight a bunch of people with imminently burnt skin for our slice of the promenade, the last parking lot spot and the remaining restaurant seat.
Often as that queue for the toll starts to take shape, it becomes the locals cue to exit stage whichever direction they choose and that’s fair, to each their own. But, that said, everywhere you turn in SA, it’s a hot spot anyway – yes, the ‘summer is a vibe’ variety, but with growing popularity amongst criminals, the ‘this is so good we must do bad’ variety too, which is where we come in.
Without further ado, the following is our list of how to avoid ‘hot spots’ while enjoying all that they have to offer. It’s a bit of safety for our weary local, our excited visitor and our escape artist traveller. Pin it, save it, use it, don’t lose it.
Your Holiday Safety Check List AKA Not Santa’s List (Although He Could Use it Too).
By the time the last party blower goes ‘toot’ in a desperately tired end-of-year way, and the last hard worker retires for their much deserved Christmas break, the criminal holiday rush is in full swing. What makes this even more problematic is that a) you, are exhausted and can’t be bothered to worry bad guy stuff and b) that holiday feeling takes root and makes even the most wizened of us, drop our guard and on occasion forget our sunscreen. These things happen. But to counter such holiday ruining situations, please take note of the following:
If You Are Going
- Be Alarmed. Make sure that your security system is fully functional, and *clears throat* switched on, at all times. Whether you are home or away or out to get milk. Ps. At least you can get that delivered now and avoid the crowds.
- Feeling Testy. Test your system before you go away. Let us know before you do so please, and if you would like we can come and do a full security health check at your premises ourselves.
- Beams. Make sure the garden and proximity beams are doing their thing, unobstructed. Don’t zone them out because they are warning you about something. That’s their job and they do it, so we can do ours.
- Cameras. Link them to your alarm system and keep an eye on things, literally.
- Be Sneaky. Pack your car in the garage so that prying eyes don’t see you’re making moves.
- Be Neighbourly. Let them know you are going away, just so they are aware that movement on your property would be a bad sign.
- Be Secure. Lock all the doors and windows and check them twice (like Santa checks his list).
- Use (don’t lose) Your Noodle. Make sure that your outside stuff is put away securely, otherwise it stands a good chance of becoming somebody else’s stuff.
- House/pet sitter. Furnish them with our In Case of Anything number, a panic button, and a list of precautions they must take.
If You are Staying
- *taps mic* Saying it louder for the people in the back and staying home… make sure that your security system is fully functional and switched on at all times.
- If you are entertaining out back, awesome and sorry about the dishes, but please remember to slam lock your gate and make sure that your road access is locked between everyone’s arrival.
- Don’t leave boxes on the lawn for the rubbish collection. You might as well paint a sign to your gate saying, “we have a new gaming system, come and get it”.
- Hitting the tourist hot spots is probably out of the question, for your sanity, but if you are heading to one of the ‘secret’ spots that only locals know, be careful there too. Lonely stretches and places aren’t good (stands to reason that local criminals know about them too). Share your live location and don’t carry any valuables. Yes you know the area, but that makes you potentially too confident. *clears throat and uses ‘mom’ voice* Just be careful, ok?!
- Out doing some last minute shopping? Stay vigilant, make sure your vehicle is locked before you leave it, but don’t bleep it ‘just one more time’ as you walk away – a remote jammer can get in-between the signal each time you send it. Get out, lock it, check the handle, walk away. Done like a pro.
Ps. Try not to mutter *people* under your breath as you fight your way through the malls. That’s not a safety tip btw, just a life hack.
If You are Visiting
- You’re in holiday mode and that’s awesome, but it also makes you an easy target. So be vigilant wherever you are.
- Try and plan your days beforehand. Know where you are going and use GPS. She may say the road names wrong, but she’s still pretty helpful.
- Save our number, In Case of Anything.
- Don’t carry cash or wear valuables.
- Follow our social pages and watch out for news regarding active crime hot spots, so you know where and what to avoid.
- Make sure your vehicle is fuelled up at all times.
As South African’s, we come with safety features built in. i.e. We are raised to be wary and programmed to be careful. Use these tools even when on holiday, they don’t get a day off. That way you stay safe, wherever you are. And, wherever you are in Durban, the north coast and it’s surrounds, if you need us, we’ll come find you. In Case of Anything.
