FARM HOMESTEAD SECURITY

[Bull Grackle]

Between 2015 and 2018 I was doing field research on the informal livestock industry in the Western Cape and spent a lot of time in almost all of the Province's informal settlements, RDP housing projects and low income communities. One of the best sources of information I discovered about criminal and quasi-criminal behaviour in any of the rural and peri-urban areas I visited was the local SAPS stock theft unit. I found them to be professional, helpful and knowledgeable. They are worth getting to know.

[eon]

When I lived on a plot the best money I spent was roboguard beams and a cctv system. I tried bypassing the roboguards any way I could but they always picked up my movements, the cctv cameras were set up to cover the outside of the house (especially entry points) and I also had one camera in the kitchen that pointed toward the gate leading to the bedrooms, the camera monitor was in my bedroom below the tv. My biggest goal was to prevent being woken up with a gun against my head. on a few occasions a hadeda tested my system and it worked, beams wake me up, can see attack-hadeda snooping around, no need to go out and look around.

[Kola]

Systems which show intrusion without you having to go and check.

[tomtom]

I was responsible at one point for FOB security within an asymmetric HE.

(This is not advice, nor am I encouraging it to be applied)

Plan for the worst, hope for the best. (Best advice I have ever received)
Always be wired. That switch in your brain gets left on at all times
Be left of bang. Be careful, be aware, look over your shoulder often and convince yourself every morning that today will be the day shit hits the fan.
Complacency kills. Never let your guard down. Anything can happen at any time. Never forget that.
Perimeter security. Download a google earth picture, identify weak points or likely points of entry and reinforce. This will include anything at your disposal. Beams, cameras, fences, alarms, nato wire, sand bags. Whoever wants to come through that fence is going to have to be prepared to die to see the other side.
Personal security. You don't go for a shit without your gun and 2 spare mags. Anyone that is able bodied, trained and legally allowed to posses a firearm is strapped at all times. Pistol is carried on your good side, outside the waist band in a retention holster. When you sleep, the gun is always in the same spot. Set your alarm for random times in the morning, grab it get ready, go back to bed. Everyone is always 1 up. If you use a manual safety drill it until you throw up.
Sleeping quarters. Barricaded with fences, electric wire, bars on doors/windows and anywhere else that has a weak spot. You are at your most vulnerable when you are asleep. Indians attack at dawn, be ready. Those that sleep with you, sleep close to you. You and others are completely cordoned off from the rest of the world.
Dogs. Large working dogs. They sleep in your room. There is no better alarm on earth.
Drills. Regularly participate in drills. Wake everyone up at three in the morning. Have a procedure that everyone understands and that has been drilled so often that even in a drunken stupor your instinct will take over.
Training. How fast can you change a mag? How fast can you put two shots through a human sized target from draw at 20m? You can never be good enough. Once you hear the crack of a round 10cm past your ear, those 2 range days a month go out the window and you become sloppy. 45 minutes of dry fire training, maneuvering and closing a day, minimum.
Mindset. Make peace, that if you identify a hostile party within your rules of engagement/ the law, you engage. You unleash fire and brimstone. There is no hesitation, you are prepared mentally and physically.
They want to hurt you, you want to unleash hell upon this earth.
Equipment. Night Vision, Kevlar Plates, Helmet, Active Ear Protection... Be equipped for anything and know how to use said equipment. Always leave it in the same spot, so at 2 in the morning, you know where it is. Get comfortable getting it on FAST. Maintain EVERYTHING immaculately. When you need it, it must work.
Medical equipment and training. You might just save your, or someone else's life. Be prepared, nothing ever goes like you see it in the movies.

This is a vague write up, and it is catered to experience in a war zone with full Battalions to enforce this doctrine. Might be an interesting read for some.

[SoldierMan]

When I lived on a plot the best money I spent was roboguard beams and a cctv system. I tried bypassing the roboguards any way I could but they always picked up my movements, the cctv cameras were set up to cover the outside of the house (especially entry points) and I also had one camera in the kitchen that pointed toward the gate leading to the bedrooms, the camera monitor was in my bedroom below the tv. My biggest goal was to prevent being woken up with a gun against my head. on a few occasions a hadeda tested my system and it worked, beams wake me up, can see attack-hadeda snooping around, no need to go out and look around.

Pro tip, lock your bedroom door when sleeping. Extra barrier they have to get through. I sleep much more soundly after I started doing that.

[Springer]

Pro tip, lock your bedroom door when sleeping. Extra barrier they have to get through. I sleep much more soundly after I started doing that.

Funny, I remember years ago sleeping in our house on the farm, we used to all sleep in the pantry, as it was behind internal walls. Was strangely reassuring.

[Meteor]

Tomtom reading that post really saddens me man. FOK SOKKER

[Kakuli21]

Tomtom reading that post really saddens me man. FOK SOKKER

It is indeed very sad and this is the way a lot of the world is heading, a general breakdown in moral and social value, standards , behavior , personal responsibility and knowing that you will get away with it.

[Toxxyc]

Pro tip, lock your bedroom door when sleeping. Extra barrier they have to get through. I sleep much more soundly after I started doing that.

We used to lock everything, until son started sleeping in his own bedroom. Now the bedroom door has to remain wide open. It's a pity, but necessary. I sleep A LOT lighter though. Hell, these days I wake up when the cat just moves in the yard outside the window. I wake up when the wind blows the blinds in the other side of the house. I wake up when there's just a rattle on a door from the weather, etc. I used to sleep like a log, but having a kid fixed that shit immediately. I sleep lighter and when I wake up, I'm no longer that groggy either. I seem to respond a lot quicker, and these days I'll get up for everything (like the weather rattling the security gate in the hallway last night).

It's not really a comfortable way to live, as I rarely wake up feeling rested, but at least it's living.

[SoldierMan]

We used to lock everything, until son started sleeping in his own bedroom. Now the bedroom door has to remain wide open. It's a pity, but necessary. I sleep A LOT lighter though. Hell, these days I wake up when the cat just moves in the yard outside the window. I wake up when the wind blows the blinds in the other side of the house. I wake up when there's just a rattle on a door from the weather, etc. I used to sleep like a log, but having a kid fixed that shit immediately. I sleep lighter and when I wake up, I'm no longer that groggy either. I seem to respond a lot quicker, and these days I'll get up for everything (like the weather rattling the security gate in the hallway last night).

It's not really a comfortable way to live, as I rarely wake up feeling rested, but at least it's living.

Can't you lock your and your kid's bedroom doors and you both have keys for each others doors.