# Safty for expat's family in Johannesburg



## Lieberlucky (May 26, 2011)

Hi There,


In next 40 days I would be moving Johannesburg along with my wife and 6 months old daughter. 

what all precautions we need to take, while I am planning to stay in gated complex (near Isando)?


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

The Company who is employing you needs to give you a safety/risk expert to brief you on local conditions and to assess the home you will be renting.
It would take about two hours to type up everything that has already been posted on this and other fora about precautions.
and you would still not be totally safe.

Living in SA is a bit like having sex with multiple partners on one night stands.

the pill will either work or it wont.
you will either get a STD or HIV you wont.

You will either have a glorious time and leave saying its all blown out of proportion or you will leave in wide eyed horror.
like the one night stands, there's no guarantee about either.
the only sure way is not to go there.


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## Lieberlucky (May 26, 2011)

thanks for your opinion, DaxK


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Lieberlucky said:


> thanks for your opinion, DaxK


Pleasure, Bud, based on 54 years in SA.


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## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

Daxk said:


> Pleasure, Bud, based on 54 years in SA.


ok daxk and just for the record how many years experience of one night stands.


come on sombody was going to ask so just as well be me :focus:


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

lots and lots Stevan!!
and like a lot of other stupid things I did in my youth, I was lucky.
but mistakes then did not cost you your life!


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## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

Daxk said:


> lots and lots Stevan!!
> and like a lot of other stupid things I did in my youth, I was lucky.
> but mistakes then did not cost you your life!


You naughty old man!
Good thing AIDS was not about when you were young!


And who was not stupid during their youth years?
:eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Johanna said:


> You naughty old man!
> Good thing AIDS was not about when you were young!
> 
> 
> ...


Aaah but wasn't always an old man.... agree, the only AIDS we had was Medical Aids.

still find it funny that AIDS in 10 years achieved the Morality that the Church was unable to in 600 years.:eyebrows:
sorry lucky:focus:


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

Lol...............


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## signol (May 18, 2011)

Lock your car doors when driving, keep car windows closed. If you see anything suspicious at traffic lights, go through on red - it's allowed if you are in fear of danger. 

Look on the bright side, as well as Daxk's experiences, there are others, like my parents-in-law who are almost retired and have never been the victim of robbery or attack (only scams, but they are avoidable  )

signol


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

signol said:


> Lock your car doors when driving, keep car windows closed. If you see anything suspicious at traffic lights, go through on red - it's allowed if you are in fear of danger.
> 
> Look on the bright side, as well as Daxk's experiences, there are others, like my parents-in-law who are almost retired and have never been the victim of robbery or attack (only scams, but they are avoidable  )
> 
> signol


yep, lock all the doors and windows in the house, dont leave a door open for a breeze unless the security gate is securely locked,dont wear jewellry, dont leave anything on the seats, keep watch in your rear view mirror to see if the same lights are following you home,if someone bumps into you at a traffic light, drive to a plice station, if a blue light tries t pull you over, dont assumke its Police even if they are wearing Uniforms, drive to a police station, if the kids want to have a wee while you are driving, dont stop on the side of the road,if there is a body lying in the road, drive around it, if you drive under a bridge, and your windscreen shatters or is suddenly smeared with oil and you cant see, hang your head out the window and keep on driving until you can find a well lit place that as armed security guards, in SA g thats most Petrol Stations after 6pm...
If you see stones and rocks in the road, try and drive around them if not and your wheels are damaged get away from the car and hide in the bushes, if you are shopping and you hear gunshots or see a gun, do what the others are doing and hit the deck, and hide, if someone has a gun or a knife, dont think about being a hero, your kids need a parent far more than someone else needs money.

any bad advice there. signol??


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## signol (May 18, 2011)

Do you have any stats to back up these claims? From what I heard, crime rates have continually dropped since a peak in 1994. 
South African crime statistics | SouthAfricaWeb.co.za
Like anywhere, certain areas are worse than others. You wouldn't walk around Compton, Los Angeles, or any one of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro at night, for example. Again compared to the US, most crime is gang related, confined to the gangland areas, that most will not venture to.
To the OP, sensible precautions will reduce your chances of trouble to almost zero.

signol


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Yawn!
The OP is asking about Jhbg and surrounds, .
kindly compare the favelas or LA or even London's Docklands or Limericks bad gang areas
to Gautengs areas the the OP will be LIVING and Driving in??

None.
The precautions the OP asked for (and I gave) are valid and based on incidents in Gauteng.

which of them are over the top?
not one.
every single one is in the SA Police Service Info sheets.
pop down to your local SAPS station and ask .


Crime is down?? Great!! I read about that.
what exactly did the SAPS do to bring it down?
Kindly advise, as they are on record as saying they dont know WHY its down , Slightly.

there have been some reports that the new performance reports have created some fudging of incidents, I know it happened in the Midrand SAPS station.
I witnessed it and tore a strip of the the Station Commander as well as the the Area OC.
one of the small benefits of being able to speak an African language before I learnt t speak English..

"Again compared to the US, most crime is gang related, confined to the gangland areas, that most will not venture to.
To the OP, sensible precautions will reduce your chances of trouble to almost zero."

is your home one of those gangland areas you need to avoid?
Hi-jackings and armed home invasions(aggravated Robbery) are up in Gauteng.
check the SAPS crime stats by category.
and area.
www.saps.org.za

You can guarantee that if the OP takes even all the precautions I have outlined, nothing will happen to them?
I cannot guarantee that it will if they dont, can you guarantee that it wont if they take "sensible " precautions?
which "Sensible " precautions" should they take?


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

oOOPS!!! Sorry its saps.gov.za

and NONE of these will guarantee that you will be crime free.

here are the Police safety tips, I'll dig up the one about the Blue light gangs,

Safety Tips: ATM & Cheques
and here is the one for the house.
Safety Tips: Prevent Identification Theft


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