Azar

This is the final in our series by John Azar of Kingalarm on security tips for your home, car and surroundings. We hope you found them useful.

A car is one of the most significant investments than one can make. Securing that asset is critical, especially in light of recent statistics which show that many cars are stolen daily across the island.

With the recent introduction of GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems, stolen vehicles can be easily located anywhere in the island, recovered and returned to their owners within a matter of hours! While this technology may sound costly, it is relatively inexpensive, considering the value of the car and the fact that most tracking systems also come equipped with panic buttons which can be used to protect your life.

Discounts

Such systems cost approximately $28,000 to install, with a monthly monitoring, response and vehicle recovery charge of $1,500 per month. Interestingly, as a result of negotiations with Jamaica's leading insurance companies, persons with such systems installed now receive discounts ranging from between 10-15 per cent off their comprehensive insurance premiums. With this in mind, the resultant savings on insurance premiums will, in fact, pay the annual subscription fee for the tracking service!

There are other cost- effective means of providing some level of protection for your car. These include:

1) Standard car alarms (prices start at $4,000)

2) Kill switches which can be deployed on the vehicle and thereby prevent the vehicle from being started or driven (prices start at $2500)

3) Steering-wheel locks (prices start at $2,500)

Practical security tips

It must be stressed that good security begins with a mindset, and there are a number of practical security tips that one can employ to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of such crimes. These include:

a) Always locking your car even when leaving it for a short time.

b) Never keeping a spare key hidden on the frame or body of the vehicle.

c) Always ensuring that all windows are completely wound up, realising that one slightly opened window can render all other precautions useless.

d) Parking as close to a building as possible when shopping at malls or stores.

e) At nights, parking in well-lit areas, if at all possible.

f) Never leaving valuables like radios, cellphones, cameras, attache cases, handbags and packages, that will attract unwanted attention and tempt thieves to break in.

Finally, it is always a good idea to keep a record of the year, make, model and registration of your car in a safe place, outside of your vehicle. A surprising number of persons, in reporting a stolen vehicle, are unable to provide such critical information immediately after the fact, in those first few minutes or hours, when the likelihood of the vehicle being recovered is greatest.

For further information, call 926-0116 or e-mail: johnpazar@kingalarmjamaica.com.