17 September 2011: With just days to go until South Africa's 2011 census officially begins, homeowners are being urged to be cautious when field workers visit their homes. An estimated 140 000 census workers will be visiting homes across the country over the next few weeks to gather information.
According to Helen Szemerei, CEO at IntegriSure, consumers should remain extra vigilant during this period, as it provides a perfect opportunity for a criminal to gain easy access to a person's home. "It is always advisable to be on the side of caution. All census workers should have an identification tag, a confidentiality notice, a census bureau canvas bag and a handheld device.
"If a census worker comes to your door, it is important to ask to see their identification and their badge before answering any questions to verify that they are part of the census bureau. If they do not have these items with them then it is critical that consumers do not allow them into their home or answer any questions," says Szemerei.
She says that criminals have become increasingly intelligent with regards to how they gather information about potential targets and it is critical that consumers remain on their guard during this period. "If one's house is broken into then their home insurance policy will of course pay out accordingly. However, finding your home burgled is a traumatic experience and it is far wiser to take extra precaution to prevent this from happening in the first place."
Census workers are currently verifying address information with the actual questionnaire beginning on Tuesday October 10th. Szemerei says that while census workers may ask for financial information such as salary range, consumers do not have to answer such questions. "It is also important that consumers do not give out too much personal information. The census workers will not ask for bank account or credit card information. If anyone does ask for this then it is advisable to ask to speak to their fieldwork supervisor."
The official 2011 census website states that the questionnaire should take about 35 minutes to complete and that once all the security checks have been completed consumers should feel comfortable to let the worker into their home.
However, Szemerei says consumers should be aware that they are not under any obligation to do so. "If anyone feels uncomfortable letting the census worker into their home then they should be aware that any interviews can be conducted through a security gate, or the questionnaire can be completed in one's own time and then be returned to the fieldworker by 30 October 2011."
"While it is important that consumers take due care when participating in the census, it must also be remembered that this is an important project to determine the current demographics of South Africa, which will give us a far clearer indication of where we are going forward," says Szemerei.