People around the world spend money to secure themselves and their valuables from thieves and villains ready to snatch anything not well protected. But when driving around South Africa, it’s clear that many of its citizens are willing to part with rather large amounts in order to ensure their safety.
Defensive walls, burglar alarms, electric fences, razor wire, guard dogs, insurance, 24-hour monitoring and armed response: all these add up to the price a prosperous South African pays to feel secure, and the costs aren’t likely to diminish.
Though the government has rejected a call for South Africans to deduct their private security expenses from their income tax, as reported in the Times last week, the lobby group that made the call insists the government is not fighting crime efficiently.
The group, National Civilian Safety and Security Action (Nacissa), says there is no relief offered for citizens’ security costs. Nacissa, which claims 2Â 000 members, is a national anti-crime organisation representing civil society that was established in January this year.
”Therefore members of the public should deduct clear-cut and easy-to-prove expenses from their taxable income when completing returns. Of course we don’t want them to do anything illegal, but it should work as a signal to the government to open its eyes,” Nacissa spokesperson Conrad Beyers told the Mail & Guardian Online this week.
”They are currently not supporting the people in combating crime and therefore people should be able to take over the role of the government by using their tax rebate to safeguard themselves,” he said.
However, the South African Revenue Service says the Income Tax Act does not allow people to make deductions based on expenditure on private security services.
A spokesperson at the Ministry of Safety and Security, Trevor Bloem, argued that the plan is neither practical nor contributing to reducing crime. ”They [Nacissa] want crime to be reduced, but this is a lack of solution that they offer,” he said, adding that the group could rather volunteer in the fight against crime.
According to police statistics released earlier this month, there are about 50 murders, 148 rapes and nearly 700 serious assaults each day. South Africa’s murder rate rose by 2,4% in the past year and violent robberies at business and residential premises rose by 52,5% and 25,4% respectively.
Even though South African authorities had set out to achieve an annual 7% to 10% drop in crime, South Africa remains one of the world’s most violent countries.
Of course, with all this crime, many South Africans have become masters at swapping horror stories about crime, and some seem to be almost infected with fear.
In the end everyone wants to be and feel safe. And that’s where the money comes in. If you want to protect what you cherish, it will cost you.
The cost of safety
So how much do South Africans spend on keeping themselves safe?
First stop, insurance: a young, urban professional with a monthly salary of about R25Â 000 drives a 2004 Audi TT coupe and has enough disposable income — and therefore valuables — for a criminal to want to break into his house or car.
To ensure our professional’s property and the coupé, the Mail & Guardian Online called Absa. We insured the Audi TT, which has a retail value of R237 500, against all risks. We also insured the contents of his house to the value of R300 000.
Absa offered different packages, but to ensure the car and house against all conceivable risks would cost at least R360 a month. Because the Audi is labelled a ”high-risk vehicle”, we were asked by Absa if a tracking device had been installed. This would cost a further R120.
Our yuppie now needs to insure his house itself, which needs extra security. We called Electerrific, a company that specialises in electric fencing. It will install a six-strand electric fence for R7Â 000 — that is, R35 a metre for a 200m fence. Additionally, an ”energiser” — at R2Â 600 — has to be installed to electrify the fence.
Electerrific’s Philip de Kock says that R7Â 000 for an electric fence is an average price tag; fencing can go up to tens of thousands of rands. ”It all depends on the size of your house and how well you want it to be fenced. We see that there is an increasing demand for fences with eight wires instead of the common six because the crime in this area [greater Gauteng] is ferocious. Of course that has an impact on the price.”
To install a burglar alarm and retain the services of armed-response guards, we turned to Chubb. Having a burglar alarm installed would set our friend back between R3Â 000 and R30Â 000, depending on the size of his house and the quality of the alarm system.
Additionally, Chubb Security offers monitoring and armed reaction for R265 a month.
Of course, our professional can always buy a gun, which, after he has obtained a licence, can cost anything from R1Â 000 to R10Â 000.
Altogether, our yuppie will spend about R745 a month. Additionally, the one-time expenses of his fence and burglar alarm would set him back at least R12Â 600. But that’s a conservative estimate; a more realistic amount would be between R15Â 000 and R20Â 000 to secure his belongings thoroughly.
And if all else fails, get yourself a vicious pit bull terrier. These powerful, intelligent and bad-tempered animals will likely scare off most intruders, but you’ll have to empty your wallet one last time: a puppy from the Manjaro Pit-Bull Kennels near East London would set you back R1Â 500 — if you pick it up and train it yourself.