Verification

Gosh. I am hopelessly sleepy now, despite the fact that it is 9am. Awaiting to go to the post office to try to invest more in Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020. A good deal, but darn hard to get.

Anyway, on the subject of a gated community, let's assume all is well, no protest. There is still one key element - a critical success factor. Verification. It has happened to me countless times. Each time I try to enter a condo, I will just mumble some names to the guards, and a unit number. Mr. Wong, Block C, will do. I mean, Mr. Wong is just as common as Mike or Dave in London. Because there is no way to verify the truth, the guards will just let me in.

The best I've done so far - I told the guards I would be picking up my friend, female naturally, from Unit B-17-5. Honestly, I didn't remember her unit number. I was unable to contact my friend to verify her unit number. Couldn't remember if it was floor 7 or 17. But B-17-5 worked. The guards allowed me in. When I met my friend much later, it was discovered that she was on the 7th floor. The part that boggles my mind - 17th floor does not exist. The highest floor is only 12th. Speaks volumes on the security provided.

So, if someone must set-up a gated community, please, for crying out loud - have a verification system. There must be a way to verify with the occupants if they are expecting visitors. This is indeed very difficult. There are privacy issues - I might not want my 18 year old friend-with-benefit being asked to many questions. On the same note, it is equally difficult to contact residents, and expensive too!

In short, gated communities have little chance to be extremely effective. It is a just a very poor attempt at security. Most of it are nothing more than a dog and pony show. Some will argue - but with guards taking down details, it must work. Yeah right. Think about it. Can the guards tell the difference between a genuine and fake or tempered ID? I am an expert on subject matter and I have difficulties. What makes us think the vehicle registration plates will be genuine? Or could it be a stolen vehicle? Yet again, there is no way to verify.

The mind boggles at the conventional logic, or lack of, people apply. All in all, IMHO, gated communities are nothing but a bloody nuisance - both to the residents and the criminals.