We started our G&G in late 2008 and since that time, we have had rather peaceful sleeps and a relatively safe environment in USJ11/3 despite escalated criminal cases reported in other areas of Subang Jaya and USJ.
Perhaps this sense of safety has also led to many people letting their guard down and have started to take things for granted. And with so many areas now under watch with similar G&G scheme, the criminals do not have much choices as to where else to target to commit their dastardly acts.
So what do they do? Simple - they come back! But they now operate with greater speed, better planning and greater efficiencies and under very different circumstances.
This was what happpened in USJ 11/3 a few days ago. Four houses were broken into almost simultaneously on the same day with much valuables carted away. So, why has this happened?
Indeed, while our G&G has successfully kept incidences of snatch thieves and car thefts almost a hundred percent at bay, we have still not successfully tackled incidences of house break-ins. As the occupants leave their houses to do their business outside, their vulnerability to house break-ins increases significantly and unfortunately, empty houses attracts opportunists!
The modus operandi has shifted to committing these crimes in broad daylight as this is the time when most occupants leave their houses for work or school, leaving their homes empty for the picking. From the burglar's view-point, there are plenty of targets to choose from!
Here are some disturbing trends:
1. Houses broken into thus far DO NOT have alarm systems or CCTVs installed.
2. The houses were not properly secured for example double locking while some were without grill.
3. The front portion of the houses are obscured by overgrown trees, drying laundry, etc.
4. There is almost a fix pattern on when the occupants leave and return to their homes making it almost predictable for the criminals to know when to strike.
5. The crime happened between 10am to 4pm.
6. There were also signs of carelessness amongst the victims such as not locking their premise properly.
The committee take these recent spate of opportunistic break-ins in USJ 11/3 seriously and we are going to do something about it. We have in fact, taken the first step in meeting with the new OSC of Balai Polis USJ8, Puan Chia, last Friday at her invitation, to discuss collective measures on how we can prevent these crimes from happening again.
The Committee, meeting with Puan Chia, the new OCS at Balai Polis USJ8
The committee will also be convening a meeting very soon to address this issue and put in place mitigative measures as soon as possible. This will include reviewing some of the security measures currently in operation and to take further steps to enhance and improve it.
Among them, conducting more stringent checks at the entrances. So please be prepared especially if you are non-paying resident and yet choose not to display the stickers we provide you for free. We will stop you or any other vehicles coming into USJ 11/3 if there are no valid stickers prominently displayed.
Anyway, whose responsibilty is it to ensure our safety? Is it the police, or in our case, the committee members or perhaps the security guards we employ?
All of us have our own opinion but in reality it is non-exclusive and that really means the responsibility belongs to all of us. We ALL have a part to play as we are the stake holders to this very need. So, please do not harp on the fact that such crimes have to be taken care of by the committee or the police or the guards. You are equally as responsible.
You, as a resident, have an important role to play. For example, you can start by ensuring that you report vehicles moving around in our area in a suspicious manner as they may be carrying out surveillances to mark their next targets. You can note down the time, the make of the car, registration number and report it to the committee as soon as possible so that we can take immediate action.
And if you have not secured your own premise such as installing alarm system or even CCTVs, perhaps you might want to seriously consider doing this. Do not just rely on the security guards or the police as your safety nets. Think of the guards and the police as a layer to enhance your own security rather than replacing what you may or may not have put in place.
Remember, the idea here is to make it as difficult as possible for the criminals to conduct their business. And if you are going to leave your house for long periods of time, please do inform the guards. They will ensure that your premise be closely watched when they do their rounds.
We all need to come together as a community and in collaboration with the police, we hope to deter crime in our neighbourhood and help make it a more secure and safe place for our families. Do not take your safety and the safety of your families for granted as this can also happen to you.
The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ
4 comments:
Dear Residents,
It is the responsibility of us all to do our bit to improve the security of our KAMPONG. The security has improved tremendously, thank you to all the selfless commitee members. Please do not allow the recent break in let us down, in fact, we should examine our own security measure, have we done enough or are we taking for granted ? Some residents may have. It is not possible to secure the KAMPONG in total. Please do not give reasons like the break in, no street light in front of your house, no guard near by, your house is in the dead end zone,the gate is too far from your house, nobody come to collect , do not know who to pay and blah, blah,......... This KAMPONG security is our TEAM responsibily, the break in may not be your house this time, we all do not know when we are next, that is why we are hiring the guards to reduce the probablity, otherwise it will be worst like before g&g. Please help to pay up the security.
I heard from some of the paying neighbours that some residents dont want to pay as a result of the recent break ins. There were even talks of 'boycott'!
Of course the biggest push comes from the non paying residents.
Question is, who are we boycotting and who will pay the price? All I can say is that the committee are just like you and me.
And if you do boycott, then think of it as we are actually boycotting ourselves and in fact we will become the ultimate losers. Don't shift the blame as we are in this together.
As this article has suggested, we are non exclusive and that what the committee (or we) do, it will affect us all. Let's not kid ourselves that it's 'their' problem and not 'mine'...!
3C
Understand that everyone plays a role to improve the security. But what make me curious, by placing security guards, CCTV etc, if anyone can drives in anytime without being questioned by the guard. I don't see what is the point. My friends can just drive in by simply mention a house number/street, and obviously i am putting much hope to the security that they can enhance the security more effectively than now.
Dear Anonymous,
TQ for your comment. This is one of the reviews the Committee is working on. We are closely monitoring the performance of the guards as well. Rest assured, we are not taking this lightly and steps have been taken to beef things up. We hope to implement all the measures by end of June. You will start to notice this when implemented. Please be patient as it will take us some time to sort out the many issues confronting us. For a start, your complains, including from other residents have been taken into account. We have met with the Security company to work on improving on its performance. Please do look out for the newsletter which we are going to send out soon.
Regards
The Committee
11 Trees @ USJ
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