Does a barbed wire fence make you feel more secure?
Being able to live and travel in a relatively safe environment is one of the greatest things about the grey nomad lifestyle … but security at Australia’s camping areas is a growing concern for many.
It seems the days of being able to leave fishing rods, campchairs and fridges sitting outside the van for days at a time without having to worry about them are well and truly over. And some caravan parks are now making significant investments to attempt to offer visitors the more reassuring environment they seek.
The Dubbo City Council-owned Dubbo City Holiday Park, for example, is spending more than $40,000 a year for night security patrols … having found that closed circuit TV monitoring was revealing problems after they had happened rather than actually stopping them.
The night patrol cash appears to be money well spent however, with a marked decrease in the number of break-ins and thefts being recorded at the van park in inland New South Wales
Dubbo City Council Manager of Commercial Facilities Simon Tratt told the Daily Liberal newspaper there had been just one break-in since the ‘night watchman’ was introduced in May following a spate of crime that had begun to escalate since Easter last year.
Mr Tratt said much of the crime at the park had been opportunistic, and that offenders had been climbing over a barbed wire fence and breaking into cars and entering accommodation.
“They might try the doors of the caravans to see if they were unlocked,” he said. “And in summer, when people sometimes left sliding doors open in cabins, that could be a problem … they would also unzip caravan trailers.”
Apparently, the only real forced entry was to vehicles where car windows were smashed and purses, wallets and laptops that were left inside were grabbed.
Mr Tratt said while it would have been nice to be able to use the money for other purposes, spending on security was an investment.
“If you don’t address the problem, the business will suffer,” he said. “We have a lot of caravanners and they are our word of mouth advertising. If they have a good experience or a bad experience, they will pass that on to other potential visitors.”
Mr Tratt told the Daily Liberal that throughout the crime peak and subsequent decline, the park had nevertheless recorded its best two financial years on record.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into maintenance and upgrades,” he said. “Even though there’s been this enhanced crime problem, the fact that we’ve achieved these results is testament to the fact that we’ve really put the resources in to nail this problem.”
Do you worry about security in caravan parks or at camping areas? Do you feel reassured when security measures such as fencing, CCTV and night patrols are in place? Comment below.
Then watch the Fees go through the roof…..
Wouldn’t mind paying a little for peace of mind, we always stay in a park in Victoria that has security rounds Day/Night and it is a deterant, before that 4 vans in a row were broken into 2years ago,all money, wallets and handbags gone, elderly very upset , besides all Parks do need security.
what do you want security or not.?if we didn’t have thieves we wouldn’t have to worry.
To date we have had no trouble, but as a security measure for items that have to be left out, we use bike coded locks on our bikes, tables and chairs. But I agree security in caravan parks and camping is a thing of the future.
as a baby boomer, in my youth , on hot summer nights, my parents used to leave front & back doors open, BUT lock wire doors, to let the cooler night air thru, even when camping out the same applied,even bikes left outside the tent or caravan were fairly safe, but this generation of youth.?as for guards/ night patrols, sad, but its the sign of the times.
I prefer to camp where there are no dangerous animals, and the only ones I know of in Aust walk on 2 legs!
We had this problem in NSW more than 30 years ago. We were only on holidays then in Terrigal. We had quite a bit stolen even a full esky of beer!!!
security at van/camping parks should start with well fenced premises and definately camera monitoring 24/7. security patrols will only deter some. overnight camping patrons are just as likely to be off with your goods before morning if they are flyby- nighters, gone are the days of trusting your fellow neighbour..sad but true
Growing up in small country town (Melton, Vic now large Melbourne Satellite City) both parents worked out of town all day, we five kids came home from various schools at different times (primary, high, whatever schools, buses, trains) the house was never locked. Never even thought about robbery. To date haven’t been robbed at caravan parks – but have the unsettling feeling that it’s only a matter of time.
One park in northern WA LOCKS you in until about 7am. Bad luck if you want out for an early start