Security patrol system instead of barriers  

Bukit Tunku and Taman Duta are two neighbouring and affluent residential areas in Kuala Lumpur, housing bungalows, luxury condos and villas.

These two neighbourhoods are decades-old and as crime rates rose over time, the residents decided to establish the Bukit Tunku Residents Association (BTRA) Security Scheme, which also covered Taman Duta. The scheme began in 2002.  

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BTRA Committee President Dato’ Muthanna Abdullah tells EdgeProp.my that instead of placing barriers, BTRA decided to have patrols with vehicles bearing BTRA logo and flashing lights. 

“We began with a small number of residents subscribing for the service and one patrol car. Over the years the number of paying members rose to 80 households and the security fleet expanded to two cars and one motorcycle,” says Muthanna. 

The BTRA Security Scheme offers security to the community on two fronts — general deterrence and quick response. 

As visibility is a good way to demonstrate general deterrence, the guards are constantly on patrol every evening. The patrols are recorded on an electronic clocking device and tracked using a GPS device. 

Quick response can be achieved if subscribers provide their phone numbers so that incoming distress calls can be traced to the caller’s address. This is particularly useful because during the panic of a break-in for instance, the victim may not be able to remember his or her address.

As the residential areas are not gated and guarded, the requirement to have the approval from at least 80% of residents is not needed to set up the security scheme. Instead, the scheme is running based on subscriptions. Subscription fee has remained constant over the years at RM3,000 per year.

“We believe that residents prefer the patrolling scheme to the barriers,” he says, adding that patrolling routes are designed based on the location of the subscribers’ houses. The security scheme has been largely successful as over the past 18 years, there have been few security incidents among its subscribers. 

“The security company has been very professional in tracking the patrol vehicles’ positions closely and providing responsible, pleasant and cooperative guards to man the vehicles,” he enthuses. 

“The scheme has helped to improve safety considerably and the residents feel more secure as they are able to call up the guards if they see anyone acting suspiciously in any of the two neighbourhoods,” says a proprietor in Bukit Tunku.

“My property is rented out and my tenant is very happy with the scheme,” he adds.

This story first appeared in the EdgeProp.my pullout on March 6, 2019. You can access back issues here.