Paradox!

Living in Ghana after 4 years of working in PNG was like being released from prison. Don't get me wrong, I loved working in PNG but after a time the constant worry over personal safety begins to wear you down. Security is such a big issue and leaving the house after dark is generally out of the question especially for a woman on her own
In Ghana I lived in a sort of compound house and the only lock was a bolt on the gate. There were no security bars on the windows and I never locked an internal door. In fact I don't remember there being a key! I could walk down to the town in the dark and loved the small kiosks with their kerosene lamps that illuminated the main street. Arriving back after a trip to Accra at 2.00 am held no terror - apart from passing the mortuary but that's another story!
Now after an absence of nearly 17 years things don't seem to have changed much. Ghana still continues to be a very safe place to live. Why is it then that we have an electric fence around our house? My partner has just bought another house for his brother and daughters and is going to put razor wire on top of the wall which has just been raised. As a precaution is also putting planks of wood on the inside of the doors so that it becomes more like a fortress.
I asked about our electric fence which is more for show than as a deterrent as it isn't on most of the time and it seems it is just what Ghanaians do! We have had to go out a couple of times leaving the house empty and we have yet to lock the door - in fact we haven't locked a door since I arrived.
At the gym people just put their phones and wallets and bags on open shelves with no concern about them being stolen and ladies leave their bags in the changing rooms while they exercise.
So the paradox is why is there the need for all this security when we live is such a relatively safe environment?