Due to the rampant cases of business and house break ins and terrorism, the Uganda Police deputy Inspector General appealed to the Public to install security gadgets such as Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV), tracking devices and alarm bells on their buildings.
During The Fatboy Show on RX Radio, James Onen aka Fatboy reasoned that, though already armed with his security dog Rukia, alarm bells are also the best technical security gadget one could install at their building.
“I think the Bells are better because they will at least deter the thieves. If it rings, it will alert the owners to the presence of thieves and the rest of the neighborhood which will make them flee. But I’ve seen so many instances of CCTV camera footage where you can clearly see the thieves or murderers and you never see these people apprehended,” said Fatboy.
He recounted a similar instance in 2009 when his laptop got stolen and even after presenting the police with the footage, it just admitted that they knew the thief and nothing was done beyond that to help him retrieve his property.
At his residential place, Fatboy further narrated of a burglary in which three cars were stolen by a stranger who drove them out of the estate one by one. Luckily even though his was near the stolen cars, it wasn’t taken.
This prompted the installation of CCTV cameras by the estate landlord according to him. Olive in shock also recalled that living in a semi-detached area, she has had to constantly remind her housekeeper to take caution because she would sometimes wake up to an unlocked front door.
“And I'd always be like even in an estate people can steal. In most of these estates the gatemen question more people that walk in. But if you're in a car, they just open it and that's how someone drives in, steals from your neighbor and drives out. No one will know,” said Olive.
However, she also expressed her support for alarm bells rather than CCTV cameras saying that their sound can easily send away thieves than cameras that will provide recorded evidence.
“I’ve seen footage of thieves walking into someone's house when the people are maybe sleeping upstairs. These thieves even take their time, they even go to the fridge, pick something to eat and then walk away. If at all you have an alarm, first of all it's going to wake you up and then the entire neighborhood and the thieves will walk away.” Olive concluded.
According to Maj Gen Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime encouraged town authorities to make it mandatory for all buildings to have security systems such as CCTVs because the country is facing terrorism attacks at supermarkets fuel pumps and residential homes.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive and Sarah every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.