This is the second in a series of articles by Sgt. Chris Wilcox, Crime Prevention Officer of the Bermuda Police Service.

Today's topic is the role of dogs in protecting your property.

"If you want to prevent crime, get a dog!'' is a common view shared by many in Bermuda, and indeed I know several people who rely entirely upon their dogs for protection -- even to the point of leaving their doors unlocked, and occasionally leaving their doors wide open at night time! I tell them that they are `a crime waiting to happen', but so far to no avail! Dogs undoubtedly can be a major deterrent to criminals, but in the final analysis they are, after all, just living creatures. So just how dependable as a crime prevention tool are they? This question conveniently leads me into today's (slightly embarrassing) story! It concerns a young Constable who was working the graveyard shift (midnight to 8 a.m.) one winter's morning back in the mid-1970s. At about three o'clock, in the dead of night, he was sent to the residence of the then Commissioner of Police, Mr. LM (Nobby) Clarke, and told to relieve the officer, who was on duty inside the Commissioner's home. The Constable was expected to use his own transport (a motorbike) and was dressed in his full winter uniform, complete with "bobby' helmet (crash helmets were not compulsory in those days). He had never been to the Commissioner's home before and so tried his best to follow the verbal directions that he had been given.

Somewhere he took a wrong turn and ended up outside a large, single story cottage with broad welcoming steps, which led up to the front door.

At the bottom of the steps was a very large, loose German Shepherd dog! The dog looked somewhat surprised to see the officer ride up, but it never barked and nor did it show any signs of aggression.

The Constable presumed that this must be the Commissioner's own dog and that it was therefore used to seeing Policemen in uniform. As a result he paid absolutely no mind to it! He got off his motorbike, walked past the dog and then continued up the long steps to the front door of the cottage. The screen door was closed, but unlocked and the front door itself was wide open. The interior was in complete darkness.

Believing that he was still entering the right house, he slowly made his way in the darkness toward what he thought was the kitchen -- away from the snoring people at the other end of the cottage! It was at this point -- shortly after three in the morning, mid-way inside the home of complete strangers and with a large, loose German Shepherd outside -- that he realised he was probably inside the wrong house! Against a backdrop of whistling frogs and snoring people, the young Constable gingerly retraced his footsteps across the creaking floorboards back to the front door, and gently opened and closed the screen door behind him.

Then he descended the long welcoming steps, carried on past the alert but still bemused German Shepherd, returned to his motorbike, clambered on board and rode off! Throughout the whole incident the dog hardly moved and it never uttered a sound! For many years afterward the officer often wondered whose cottage that was -- because he never had the nerve to go back there! Another story springs to mind in which two normally very protective dogs simply stood by -- apparently mesmerised -- while a man broke into their owner's home. Amazingly the owner was sitting literally just a few feet away from her dogs throughout this whole incident! It was she, in fact, and not the dogs, who, on seeing the intruder, then raised the alarm! She screamed and this apparently brought the dogs out of their trance and they quickly saw off the intruder! The moral of my story is this. While you can generally rely upon dogs to raise the alarm when a stranger comes on to your property, you should not depend upon them entirely.

In a thunderstorm for example, the noise and flashes of lightning can frighten many a dog and cause it to run away or some would-be thief might deliberately let it off its property.

What if something unexpectedly happened to your dog and it disappeared -your security would literally disappear too! Before I close it is worth touching upon the topic of warning notices that state `Beware of Dog'.

In some instances signs can be more effective than actually keeping a dog on the property (regretfully through, lack of space precludes me from recounting more stories!).

I do however, recall one lady whose home had been broken into on several occasions. She wanted to buy a dog but was allergic to them.

A friendly neighbour heard about their plight and every evening for a week or so, he would take his own large dog over to her property and let it loose in her garden for a few hours.

He even placed a large surplus dog kennel and water bowl outside her back door! That was several years ago and the kennel and bowl are still there.

Interestingly she has not had any problems since -- I wonder why! Whether or not you own a dog or dogs, my advice is still the same.

Concentrate on making your home as physically secure as possible. Regard your dog as a form of back up security; it should never be your sole deterrent.

Tomorrow's article and embarrassing story concerns intruder alarm systems.

In the meantime if you require advice or wish to discuss any aspect of crime prevention, I invite you to contact the Police Crime Prevention Unit, telephone number 299-4286.

All services of the Unit are free of charge and officers will visit your home or business upon request and make recommendations to improve security.

POLICE POL