December does not make criminals smarter. It makes the rest of us predictable. Homes stand empty for two weeks, cars are packed for long drives, wallets come out in crowded malls, year-end functions run late, and every phone is buzzing with delivery notices and payment requests. Each of those is a routine change — and routine changes are exactly what a planned crime is built around.
This guide is written from an operator’s point of view: what we watch for when we protect a client over the holidays, translated into steps any household can take. It is the anchor of our five-part festive safety series — the other four go deeper on children, women, men and personal cybersecurity.
Why December Changes Your Risk Profile
- Predictable absence. School closes, offices shut, families leave on the same few days. An empty house with a full post box is an advertisement.
- Visible spending. Shopping bags, cash for stokvel pay-outs and bonuses, new electronics in boxes left on the pavement for refuse collection.
- Fatigue on long routes. Tired drivers make poor decisions about where and when they stop.
- Crowds and alcohol. Beaches, concerts, malls and functions compress thousands of people with lowered guards into small spaces.
- Reduced staffing. Businesses, estates and households run on skeleton staff, and relief staff do not know the normal pattern of the site.
- Scam season. Parcel notifications, holiday rentals and “your bank” calls peak when people expect them. We cover this in detail in our personal cybersecurity guide.
Before You Leave Home
Most holiday burglaries are not forced entries on a random house. They are the house that looked unoccupied for longest. Your job is to make yours look lived-in and to make sure the people responsible for responding know you are away.
- Tell your armed response provider your travel dates and give them a current keyholder who is actually in town. A response officer who reaches a triggered alarm with nobody to open the gate can only check the perimeter.
- Test every layer before you go: alarm zones, panic buttons, beams, electric fence energiser, gate motor and the backup batteries for all of them. Power outages are when weak batteries fail.
- Make the house look occupied: lights on timers in rooms people actually use (not just the porch), a neighbour who moves the bins and clears the post box, deliveries paused or redirected.
- Don’t post in real time. Beach photos can wait until you are home. Location tags and “two weeks in Ballito!” tell a stranger your house is empty and for how long.
- Lock away access: gate remotes, spare keys and the garage remote in the car are the fastest way into your home if the car is stolen or broken into.
- Vet the house-sitter exactly as you would a new employee: ID, references you phone yourself, and clear rules about visitors.
- Secure firearms in a safe that meets the Firearms Control Act requirements. A stolen firearm is how many armed robberies start.
- Photograph serial numbers of electronics and keep a copy off-site. It speeds up insurance claims and SAPS recovery.
Staff who stay behind — domestic workers, gardeners, house-sitters — need a written procedure: who may enter, who to call, what to do if someone arrives claiming to be from the alarm company or the municipality. Social engineering of staff remains one of the most common routes into a home.
On the Road: Long-Distance Travel and Hijacking
Plan your stops, don’t improvise them
Decide where you will refuel and rest before you leave, and choose busy, well-lit fuel stations on the main route. Arrive at your final stop in daylight where you can. The dangerous stop is the unplanned one — the dark lay-by, the quiet off-ramp, the town you don’t know.
Pack for the destination, not at the destination
Load valuables into the boot before you start the trip. Someone who opens the boot to hide a laptop at a shopping centre has just shown the car park where the laptop is. Keep phones, bags and wallets out of sight inside the cabin; smash-and-grab is a two-second crime.
Know the “blue light” protocol
Criminals do impersonate police with blue lights and fake uniforms. SAPS advice is not to stop in an isolated area: switch on your hazards, slow down, keep driving to the nearest police station or busy filling station, and phone 10111 to verify the stop. A genuine officer will understand.
Watch for being followed home
Many hijackings and house robberies happen in the driveway, at the moment the gate is open. From about two kilometres out, check your mirrors. If the same vehicle has made the same turns, do not go home — drive past, go to a police station or a busy public place, and call your armed response provider. When you do arrive, stop in the road short of your gate, check the street, and only open the gate when you can drive straight in.
Roadside tricks to recognise
- Someone flagging you down or signalling that your tyre is flat. If the car drives normally, keep going to a safe, busy place before you check.
- Objects placed on the road at night to force you to stop.
- A “minor” bump from behind on a quiet road. Indicate that you will follow them to a police station or busy area.
If you are confronted by an armed hijacker, comply. Keep your hands visible, move slowly, and tell them what you are doing before you do it. If a child is in the back, say so calmly and ask to get them out. No car is worth a life.
Malls, ATMs and Cash
- Use ATMs inside malls or bank branches rather than on the street, and refuse help from anyone, however official they appear. “Helpful” strangers at ATMs are there to see your PIN or swap your card.
- Tap to pay wherever you can. Your card never leaves your hand and your PIN is never typed where someone can see it.
- Check your car is actually locked. Remote-jamming in car parks is common. Listen for the lock and try the handle.
- Leave with purpose. Don’t sit in your parked car on your phone with the doors unlocked. If you think you were watched in the mall, don’t drive straight home (see above).
- Limit what you carry: one card, some cash, and your banking app with sensible daily limits.
Events, Beaches and Year-End Functions
- Agree a meeting point for your group the moment you arrive, somewhere fixed and visible — not “by the car”. Networks fail in large crowds.
- Know your exits. Locate two ways out of any venue. If a crowd starts to press, move sideways and out, not forward.
- Watch your drink. Drink spiking happens to everyone. Don’t leave a drink unattended, and don’t accept one you didn’t see poured.
- Plan the ride home before the first drink: a designated driver, or an e-hailing trip where you check the plate, model and driver photo before you open the door.
- Children in crowds need their own plan. See our child safety guide.
Hosting a year-end function, wedding or matric dance? Guest safety is the host’s responsibility. Our event security planning guide covers venue assessment and staffing ratios, and our VIP motorcade service covers protected arrivals.
Businesses Closing for the Holidays
- Update your alarm company’s keyholder list and escalation numbers before staff go on leave.
- Brief relief guards on the site’s normal pattern — who is expected, which vehicles, which doors stay locked.
- Suspend or restrict access cards for staff on leave, and collect keys from contractors whose work has ended.
- Bank cash before closing; don’t leave December takings on site over a long weekend.
- Confirm that year-end supplier payments are to the banking details you already hold. Holiday periods are peak time for payment-redirection fraud.
Our corporate security guide covers the full business brief.
Save These Numbers
Put them in your phone now, and in the phones of anyone in your household old enough to use one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I keep my house safe while on holiday in South Africa?
Tell your armed response provider your travel dates and give them a keyholder who is in town, test your alarm, panic buttons, gate motor and backup batteries, use timer lights in rooms that are normally used, have a neighbour clear your post and move your bins, lock away gate remotes and spare keys, and avoid posting your location on social media until you are home.
What should I do if a car with blue lights tries to pull me over at night?
SAPS advises motorists not to stop in an isolated area. Switch on your hazard lights, slow down to show you have seen them, and drive to the nearest police station or busy filling station. Call 10111 to verify that the stop is genuine.
How can I tell if I am being followed home?
From about two kilometres from home, check whether the same vehicle has made the same turns as you. If it has, do not go home. Drive past, go to a police station or busy public place, and call your armed response provider or 10111.
Is the festive season more dangerous in South Africa?
The festive season changes routines rather than creating new crime types: homes are empty for longer, people carry more cash and goods, long-distance travel increases, crowds and alcohol are more common, and scams tied to deliveries and holiday bookings increase. Planning for those changes removes most of the added risk.