Hi All

I just brought a house in Central Park 4 - I intend to move my father & his wife in there. Sometime's it'll be left unoccupied. There was a burglary there last week. I've also heard a few burglary stories.

Should I be too worried about this - is it a huge problem out there ?

We are having bars fitted on the windows - it's a deterrent & if someone wants to get in, they will.

Anything else we can do ? I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams - good or not ?

Any thoughts ?

cheers

Pedro

Security is a problem anywhere. You say you have bars on the windows and I assume, security doors inside the outside doors. I have all of these, plus security lights ( heat sensor) they are good, and inexpensive. If your house backs on to farmland, that is dodgy. My mate got burgled from the back, he put broken glass on top of the walls. If you live on a managed estate, they must have their own security. Drop him a few bob to keep a special eye on it.

Security firms may be expensive and arrive when the thieves have been and gone. You could have the place alarmed, but you would have to have a key holder in case it goes off on it's own.

At the end of the day, everyone has the same worry. When I come back from a holiday, my first thought, when I pull into my soi, is the house alright. All you can do is make it as secure as you can.

We sponsored an advertising the police magazine (pretty useless, which policeman needs hydraulic seals??) and payed half a motorbike for the local policestation (everything very official, not money under the table) in exchange many times per night a policeman on the motorbike comes and checks our house.

Of course it does not help if the bad guy comes between two checks, but if there is a lot police arround, maybe a bad guy takes the next soi instead.

Hi All

I just brought a house in Central Park 4 - I intend to move my father & his wife in there. Sometime's it'll be left unoccupied. There was a burglary there last week. I've also heard a few burglary stories.

Should I be too worried about this - is it a huge problem out there ?

We are having bars fitted on the windows - it's a deterrent & if someone wants to get in, they will.

Anything else we can do ? I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams - good or not ?

Any thoughts ?

cheers

Pedro

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Hi All

I just brought a house in Central Park 4 - I intend to move my father & his wife in there. Sometime's it'll be left unoccupied. There was a burglary there last week. I've also heard a few burglary stories.

Should I be too worried about this - is it a huge problem out there ?

We are having bars fitted on the windows - it's a deterrent & if someone wants to get in, they will.

Anything else we can do ? I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams - good or not ?

Any thoughts ?

cheers

Pedro

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Having bars on the windows is a great deterent but what if you have a fire for instance and you are in the bedroom. The window might be your only way out.

Hi All

I just brought a house in Central Park 4 - I intend to move my father & his wife in there. Sometime's it'll be left unoccupied. There was a burglary there last week. I've also heard a few burglary stories.

Should I be too worried about this - is it a huge problem out there ?

We are having bars fitted on the windows - it's a deterrent & if someone wants to get in, they will.

Anything else we can do ? I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams - good or not ?

Any thoughts ?

cheers

Pedro

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Having bars on the windows is a great deterent but what if you have a fire for instance and you are in the bedroom. The window might be your only way out.

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We will only have bars downstairs - as I mentioned before - if someone wants to get in they will. You can only make life difficult for them after & make someone elses place look easier to get into.

The house is alarmed & on a gated appartment BUT my house is on the boundary backing onto a road - so someone could easily hop over the wall. Well, perhaps not 'easily'. As for bottles on the wall - we don't have that but there is a 12 foot fence with the top 2 feet being pointy iron bars - I guess you could still get over with some ladders & a thick blanket thrown over the top - you'd be pushed getting a TV back over with you though !

The security lights are a great idea too - we'll definitely get those in.

Spoke to a Dutch bloke who runs a security company in Pattaya.He said that all you can ever do is deter them.Many burglars will break in through the roof if everywhere else is strengthened.Not easy, I realy want to buy a house but may land up with a condo for this reason.Its very risky if they realise you are away for long periods.

Once you've had a break-in, there's a very high probability of having another one since the burgler is now familiar with the place. I once had my apartment broken into 3 times in 3 weeks, after having lived there for 8 years with no problems. The landlord put bars on the windows, which could be removed from the inside, but they can become rusted over time. Outdoor light with a motion sensor may help.

When working in Nigeria, we had broken glass on the walls, plus rotating metal spikes. (Nice and rusty - would definitely have caused painful injuries).

Also had armed guards (Uzi's and H&K's).

But when a gang of thieves came to my bosses house, the guards all ran away. The thieves took the TV, stereo, all the gold and money they could find. Then piled it all into the boss's car to drive away.

But they couldn't get the car to start, so all ran away, leaving everything behind.

So deterrents may not work, but sheer, blind stupidity may.

>>>> I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams

That means when they break in and steal your stuff they will do it quickly and with top professional efficiency

>>>> I saw adverts in Pattaya Mail for security companies that have 'rapid response' teams

  That means when they break in and steal your stuff they will do it quickly and with top professional efficiency

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Get a couple of guard dogs. That is a good option when all else fails. I have been a security consultant to many big companies and like everyone says, you can only deter them. Even with alarm systems, by the time someone decides to do something about the ringing....they are already gone. You may catch a stupid thief now and then.

The key as I see it is how 'appealing' is your house to burgle. Since Pedro is in a housing estate, I would suggest that he makes the neighbors houses more appealing by making his home less appealing. This would entail beefing up his security measures above and beyond the neighboring homes. Even burglers prefer to take the 'easiest target'.

The other issue is his intent to allow the house to sit vacant for periods of time, a big no no if it can be avoided. It was this exact situation that resulted in our home being entered. Fortunately for us, we had done as Ericq has suggested and had a dog who was enough of a deterrent to cause the burglers to leave empty handed. We now take steps to make the house look 'lived in' at all times and give the dog all the treats he wants.

Once you've had a break-in, there's a very high probability of having another one since the burgler is now familiar with the place.  I once had my apartment broken into 3 times in 3 weeks, after having lived there for 8 years with no problems.  The landlord put bars on the windows, which could be removed from the inside, but they can become rusted over time.  Outdoor light with a motion sensor may help.

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If you are getting bars on the windows

make sure they know what they are doing

I arrived back to find they had started and

already fitted two lovely sets of bars on the

outside of two ground floor windows

with nuts sitting exposed where anyone with time

could remove the bars easlily

They were most upset when I insisted they

put them on the inside where they might be useful

but then I am an unreasonable farang

tung tsz

You might want to soulder the screws, then paint over them.....

Can't rely on dogs at all.Up north I know several people who have lost 'guard' dogs to poisoned meat thrown over the fence.