Let neighbours keep an eye on your villa

The summer is once again approaching and many people will be leaving for holidays. Schools will close and social life will temporarily slow down.

This leads to a topic that should be taken seriously as the UAE develops. You may have heard a few unfortunate stories of friends who have returned to find that their villas have been burgled, while the incidents were completely unknown to the neighbours.

We live in a multinational and multicultural society and often have little contact with the people living around us.

This is a phenomenon that has occurred with the growth of Dubai and perhaps it is time to think about how to better protect us now and in the future from petty theft or worse.

In the past, we knew the people living around us and generally we saw our neighbours regularly either going to or coming from work. The rapid pace of life in Dubai seems to have all but erased this most natural daily pleasure.

Many people living here are familiar with a neighbourhood watch concept, and while this is not necessarily needed to the same degree as abroad, it may be a good idea to have better contact with the people living around us. This will encourage us to keep an eye out for one another when we are away on vacation.

There was a time when the demand for free standing villas was extremely high and anyone with an above average budget would not consider a compound. This is no longer the case for several reasons but one of which is security.

Large compounds with security gates are always at 100 per cent occupancy and part of the reason is that tenants feel a comfort in knowing that there is someone in charge and aware of who may be visiting the property.

There is no question we are not talking about major crime but more of petty theft by juveniles. However it is always unsettling to think of a stranger having been in our house and removing any aspect of our personal property.

The absence of crime has always been one of the very positive aspects of life in Dubai but we must still take some responsibility to be sure our personal effects are insured and that some precautionary measures are addressed when we know we shall be away on holiday or business.

The police have indicated that summer is the time they receive most complaints. Knowing this will perhaps be a warning to everyone to give a little extra attention to this subject the next time they plan to be away.

The author is the managing director of Dubai-based Better Homes LLC. Your views and questions can be sent to Gulf News, PO Box 6519, Dubai. Fax: 3441627. E-mail - editorial@gulf-news.com