Crime is increasing each year and it ranges from snatching to burglaries, to murders and much more. The recent one left the residents of the upscale Raheja Arcade miffed. Raheja Arcade is located in Koramangala III Block and mainly houses those who hold mid and senior level positions at top corporates. Raheja Arcade is guarded round the clock but in spite of such high level security (or so it seems) an unidentified gang broke into the compound in the wee hours of Thursday and walked away with a huge sandal wood tree which had grown very close to the main entrance.

Police after the primary investigation says that the gang must have entered with a battery operated saw through the rear end of the building. But what both the police and the residents are still unsure of, is how did the gang even get to know about a sandalwood tree which has grown within the compound, and secondly how can these miscreants enter such a guarded complex.

This is not the first time that such an incident has taken place in Bangalore. The first week of March this year saw Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. being struck by a similar incident. The only difference being the gang held hostage the security guards and within minutes walked away with the 15 meter tall sandal wood tree. Police say that these incidents cannot take place without the help of insiders – either security guards themselves or people who work as drivers, maids, gardeners and the like in the complexes and hence are regulars, pass on such information.

Have you thought of how to deal with a similar situation if it occurs in your housing complex? But it’s said precaution is better than cure so won’t it be better to safeguard your housing society against such untoward incidents? Well here are some of the things that you can undertake for a safer community living.

• Maintain Visitor Log :- Do make sure that all visitors, vendors and staff are strictly tracked for their entry/ exit through various gates. Their basic detais ( Name/ Number etc) should be tracked while entering the premise. Also make sure they are not fudging their identities.
• Background Verificatiion of Staff :- All staff (full time or part-time) must have background verification done, before being hired. Ideally, any full-time staff should have gone through a round of police verifications through a neighbouring police stations, else you may never know whome you might be employing. If a staff is hired through an agency, insist them to get it done before employing the staff.
• Maintan Staff Database :- It’s important to have a copy of their identity proof (Adhar card, pan card , voter ID card etc.) and a verified mobile number maintained for each Staff( Private of Office) who’s entering the premise on a regular basis. If possible, issue them Badges with their photographs so that it’s easier to identify their movements.
• Managing Resident Guests: - Have a defined process alerting residents when they have a visitor and don’t let anyone in without taking authorization from the resident via Intercom/ phone numbers. If suspicous, have a security guard escort the guest till the residents door.

Do you know of any Smarter way to secure the premises? Feel free to share with us in comments.

P.S :- By the way, do watch out for this space and we might be coming out with a really smart solution to handle this.