Dont Rely On Neighbors To Ensure Your Home Security

A lot of people assume that if they were the victim of a crime

, a nearby civilian who witnessed the crime taking place might step in to intervene, or at least call 911. You imagine some kind of camaraderie between ordinary citizens, who understand the importance of a community in ensuring safety for all. They think of all the Hollywood movies made about vigilantes ordinary people called to action by some greater moral duty.

Unfortunately, those who witness violent crimes often do not step in to lend a hand to the victims. Part of this stems from fear. If an attacker is brandishing a weapon, bystanders might be scared that if they intervene, they will in turn get hurt. Theyd rather not get involved. But that is not the only reason that people stand by idly. Studies have shown that groups of witnesses can form a sort of collective mentality or group think leading none to act. How does this work? Well, if youre watching someone being robbed, and you look around to see other witnesses doing nothing, you are unlikely to act. This is because first of all, you think that someone else might take care of the problem better than you and second of all, you assume that if no one else is getting involved then the others have made a judgment that the situation is too much for their help. This phenomenon is referred to as the bystander effect, and was developed after the high profile rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in New York in 1964, during which 38 residents of the victims building heard different stages of the attack but did nothing to intervene, one even saying that he turned up his radio to drown out the screams.

So if you cant even count on someone to call the police when they overhear a violent rape and murder, can you really expect your neighbors to watch out for your home security when youre not around? This seems highly unlikely. Say youre out one night and a robber enters your home. If your neighbors even notice, they will probably start to make justifications in their heads That noise was probably an animal; Someone couldnt be breaking in, theyve only been gone an hour; Maybe theyve returned early; Their home alarm would have gone off. They will likely do nothing, and only realize in retrospect that some of those negative feelings they pushed aside were actually based on an event that was transpiring. Its the same when you go to your cabin in Michigan for the weekend. Asking your neighbors to keep an eye on the house is always a fine added measure of home security, but it is not enough to protect you.

The real answer here is that you need to protect yourself. The first, and simplest way to do this is to invest in a good home security system, and actually turn it on at night and when you leave the house! Switching it on during a vacation is not enough. In fact, neighbors are probably more likely to notice somethings amiss when youve specifically told them that no one will be home over the weekend, and all of the sudden they see 2 men loading your TV into a white van. But on a night when youre sleeping or just happen to be out, the cycle of justifications will begin.

by: Adam Hampton

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