Residential Estate Industry Journal 3 | Page 49

INDUSTRY FOCUS PAGE 47 security pezula private estate SECURING RESIDENTIAL ESTATES All residential estates have to be secure – that goes without saying. And it’s certain that the developers of the earliest estates didn’t anticipate the level of security that would be required. In fact, an undesirable by-product of the estate industry has been the specialist estate criminal, who has developed the necessary skills to commit crimes of security does not match the quality of the environment that it should be protecting. Criminals targeting estates have simply improved their methods. One particular criminal, when caught, was reported to have said, “When you get into an estate, it’s like a shopping mall. Everybody leaves doors and windows open. So it’s a good return for the effort.” This is all having to change. inside estates. The estate security industry is maturing very The demand for improved security has hastened quickly. I have presented at a number of estate the maturity of secure estate offerings. There is security forums and am the consulting editor for no doubt that while top architects, environmental the Technews Residential Estate Security Handbook, experts, engineers and developers have poured all as a result of the industry’s call for information their skills into turning out world-class estates, and dialogue. There is a growing awareness that security provision has not always been part of security systems need to be carefully planned the detailed planning. The installer comes in after before implementation. In addition, manpower the fact, and does the best he can. and management need to understand the special environment – and residents are becoming aware The fact that security is an “add on” is often that this all costs money: security can constitute blatantly evident to the visitor, and the level between 40% and 70% of the levy.