High walls 'high risk' and 'policing nightmare'

Burglars and house robbers sitting in jail could hold the key to prevention of home invasions.

This is according to criminologist Professor Monique Marks, who argues that high boundary walls can be more dangerous and inviting for more violent criminals.

Prof Marx with an example of good security .

"The people in prison who have been responsible for serious and violent crime in homes need to be asked what kind of houses they target and why."

In the absence of this information, Marks, a researcher and head of the Urban Futures Centre at the Durban University of Technology, said the statistics were clear: homes with high boundary walls were more likely to be targeted by criminals.

"We conducted research in Westville and Umbilo. Went on ridealongs during the day and at night and had focus groups and interviews with people within the security industry. Their expertise and incident reports showed that homes where invasions were reported over and over again were the ones with high walls around them," she said.

Marks said this theory had always existed and was part of a branch of criminology called crime prevention through environmental design. This talks about a boundary structure undermining natural surveillance, making the environment more dangerous.

An example of bad security around a house.

"A wall creates a sense of isolation from neighbours and the public in the area. It creates an architecture of fear and locks us into our own perimeter boundaries, often designed in fear and anxiety," she said.

Marks said high walls around the home were also a "policing nightmare".

"No one can see what is happening in your home so no one can help. When you live in fairly imprisoned space, the sense of fear in itself can delay response which may not be the case if you can see something is happening through a perimeter."

"All of these devices create a false sense of security."

She called on people to rather develop relationships with people in their neighbourhoods. "I am not saying not having a wall makes you safer - there are a whole range of issues which need to be taken into consideration - but the basic principle is that if you have a boundary, at least have a structure which allows for visibility in and out."

"We keep adding devices to make our homes safer, it's getting to the point of being ridiculous. If criminals want to get in they will ultimately get in.

"What we have done so far to prevent crime is not working, the issue is to look at the psychologies of the brutality of our history. There are so many factors we are not dealing with as South Africans. That is another issue. The statistics cannot be ignored."

Daily News