TO START THE ‘WHY I LOVE APARTMENTS’ BALL ROLLING, HERE’S AN OLD COLUMN FROM JUNE 2009
Did you read Herald columnist Elizabeth Farrelly’s piece the other week on how her house was broken into by junkies hanging around a nearby drug den who spotted her going out for the day?
So how do we protect our hard-earned gear from thieving hands? Short of making heroin legal on prescription – and there isn’t a politician in this country with the nuts to propose that – there is another answer: move into an apartment.
Not just any old apartment, mind you, but one with well organised security and a sense of community that means anyone trying to get into your home isn’t going to be ignored by the “not my problem” brigade.
One of the great things about apartments is that you can live in a relatively high crime area and still be safer than if you were in a cottage in the middle of the country.
For a start, above the second floor you are too high off the ground for all but the most intrepid opportunists. Even if they do climb 10 storeys to your apartment, they still have to get the loot out.
Many apartments blocks now have electronic entry keys which can be cancelled when, say, a tenant moves on taking their keys with them. The same electronic fobs can be used to give lift access to your floor only – another boost to security.
Then there are video surveillance cameras. They are cheap and remarkably effective and can even be tapped into your TV system so you can sit and watch the comings and goings from your building all day and night.
Then, for larger, more upmarket blocks, there are concierges whose mere presence is a deterrent to most sneak thieves and burglars.
Combine cameras, concierges, electronic access keys and limited lift access and you have a system that means you can lock the front door of your apartment and know that your stuff is safe however long you are away.
This all costs money, of course, but it’s so effective that drug dealers love living in apartments. Don’t worry, as long as they don’t set up store in your foyer you probably won’t even know they are there.