A lot of people believe that living inside a gated community brings added benefits of protection and security. These communities are meant to keep crime out, but do gated communities actually have less crime like they want us to believe? Is it actually safer for them to live there?
Gated communities have patrol guards, security codes, and gates to keep unwanted visitors out. While all of these things are there to add protection to homeowners, is there actually less crime rate than other outside communities? The answer is yes, there is less crime rate. But it is only lower by a little bit, not as much as they would have you believe.
Most data out there indicates that the long-term crime rate of gated communities is only a little lower than the crime rate outside. The basic trend with gated communities is that the crime rate is very low for the first year its established, but then it rises to just marginally less than the rest of the community after that. They feel this is caused because burglars don’t like going to areas that are unfamiliar but they slowly make their way into these communities and crime rate goes higher.
Most critics of gated communities feel that residents are given a sense of false security. The appeal of gated communities is safety. But many argue that they are not as safe as they advertise.
For example, gated communities have their own security patrols that watch the area. Critics worry, however, that these security guards aren’t going to really provide the ultimate protection if a burglar or criminal is inside the gates, because most guards are only receiving a salary slightly above minimum wage. The security of these gated communities will only be as good as the people who patrol it.
There has also been an issue with emergency vehicles getting inside gated communities to provide emergency assistance. With so many communities being built with gates, more security codes are being used making it hard on emergency personnel to gain entrance in a timely fashion. It also is harder for ambulances and Fire engines to gain entrance because of the usual narrow gate entrances.
Lastly, a lot of people feel secure in the fact that you have to have an access code to be given entrance inside. But many unmanned gates have codes that have been given out to countless individuals who not live inside the gates. There is really no way of guaranteeing that the pizza delivery boy hasn’t given the code out to anyone else.
Whether critics are accurate in their belief that gated communities aren’t as safe as they advertise, gated communities have continued to be more and more popular. People may not know that neighborhood watch programs have shown to be just as effective as gated communities. And the bonus of neighborhood watch is it is free.
