Gated Communities
Are they really secure? Gated Communities By Brian Ramsey Amalgamated Security Service
Gated residential communities are a spreading phenomenon throughout the Caribbean and increasingly in Guyana. The growth of crime or, more exactly, the growing fear of crime is leading to an expansion in the number of these communities. Many individuals, particularly older persons, returning residents and young business professionals are opting to live in these complexes; in some cases, selling their existing homes in order to purchase houses in gated developments. For most of these persons, the rationale is that these communities are seen as secure. But the question is, are they really secure? The answer to this question is important; not only because it underlies the reason why individuals bought property within these communities, but also, although individuals may not realize it, because thieves often target gated communities. All developers of gated communities seek to put forth an attractive appearance that gives the impression that the people who live in those communities are wealthy. Once an area has the appearance of wealth, it becomes a target for thieves; and so gated complexes are frequent targets of thieves. So, are gated communities really secure? It depends. What, then, are the factors that might make a gated community not secure? To answer that question, one must first start by defining what is considered a gated community. Most individuals simply look at the fact that there is a gate that must be opened to gain entry to the community. That very thinking is what often causes a community that has been called a gated community to not be secure. In trying to decide if a gated residential complex would be secure, you have to examine if there is access into the community from other points. Can a person simply go to the back of the community and walk in? A few years ago, the son of a friend of mine was robbed in his home in a gated community. This home is built on a hill-side, in a community with a locked guarded gate at the entrance. But the catch was that someone could have climbed the hill from another community, walked across and then descended into the gated community. This is precisely the route that the intruders took. So, that a residential complex merely has a locked gate at the entrance does not prove that it is really a secure complex. It therefore stands to reason that to begin considering a gated community as being secure, the entire community has to be enclosed. However, one needs to ask if those gated communities that are completely enclosed, either by wall or fence, are secure. Part of the answer to that question rests with the issue of how high the wall is or how impenetrable the fence is, such that it can prevent intruders from gaining easy entry. Another part of the answer lies in another question. Who is patrolling the compound to see that no one is climbing over the wall from the outside? An associated question is, can the patrol see the entire perimeter of the compound or is their view blocked by the houses within the compound? Without regular patrols that can view the entire perimeter, an enclosed gated community is not truly secure. In search of the factors that might make a gated community not secure, let us return to the gate at the entrance to the community. How is that gate opened? Does everyone have a remote for opening the gate or is there a common code to enter into a panel that will allow the gate to be opened? Often, with gated communities where a code has to be entered in a panel, the requirements of daily living force residents to give the code to the maid, the babysitter and the gardener; or the residents get lazy, finding it too troublesome to go to the gate to receive deliveries and so give the code to the pizza delivery man. Eventually, the code becomes common knowledge among persons who do not live in the community and can eventually be known by thieves. A more secure community would have a guard at the gate who controls access. But even with such a measure, there can be shortcomings. How does the guard know who should be allowed to enter the compound? Is there a system where the residents must provide the names of any visitors so that the guard would know who to admit? One gated community in West Palm Beach, Florida has such a system, but has added to it by requiring that visitors provide photo-identification so that the guard can know that the visitor is indeed the person that the resident is expecting and that photo-identification is scanned and stored as a permanent record of the visit. So, the answer to the question of if gated communities are truly secure is that it depends on if the other elements of security are also in place. About the Author Brian Ramsey has a B.A. in Accounting & Management, along with an M.B.A. in Finance and over 30 years in the Caribbean security field. He is the Regional Development Director for Amalgamated Security Services Limited which operates in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua. He can be contacted at [email protected].