If you work in the multifamily industry, then you know that apartment complexes are home to some strange, unusual, and expensive criminal activity overnight. Without taking the proper security measures, trespassing, theft, vandalism, and asset damage will continue to pain you and your management company. Experiencing theft and vandalism repeatedly at your property can cause current residents to feel unsafe and wish to move out, and if any incidents occur on your property and end up on the evening news, that could mean a lapse in renewals as well as new lease signs for the upcoming months or years. You don’t want to allow your apartment to become unsafe, but you dont have a huge budget to spend on security and multiple onsite guards. What can you do to protect your residents and your assets overnight?
Remote Video Guarding is the ideal solution for keeping your property safe overnight as well as lowering on-site guard costs. A remote guard is an individual who is hired to remotely watch over a set of video camera feeds overnight. ControlByNet Video Surveillance has a remote video guard station in their office that their remote guards use to surveil over multiple properties every night. The software they use was developed by in-house specialists, and works by notifying the guards of a motion event that occurs in any frame of view of any of the cameras. The alerted guard can then watch the camera feed in real time to see if the motion event taking place is criminal or suspicious activity and can call either an onsite courtesy officer, or the local authorities to send a dispatch.
These remote guards operate for 60% less cost than an onsite guard, and are guaranteed to have their eyes on your cameras all night.
Because the guards are seeing the events as they are occurring, this can provide enough time for the local authorities to be dispatched and arrive on the property to stop the criminal activity and make any necessary arrests. This solution is ideal for car jackers, vandals, gate-crashers, residents in areas after hours, tailgaters, thieves, and much more!
Onsite security guards may seem like a better option as they are already onsite and can engage with the threat themselves, but unfortunately personnel costs are extremely high. Security guards are also unpredictable, it is possible for them to fall asleep on the job, they can patrol different areas at random intervals and miss an event in a different location, and can only be at one place at a time. In the event an incident took place, security guards are not able to provide as much evidence and documentation as a security video surveillance system or a remote video guard who was watching the event unfold right in front of them. The archived footage is perfect for providing to the authorities as well in the case of criminal prosecution.
So if you are in need of protection for your property overnight, consider the benefits of a remote video guard to watch over all your cameras all night. Not only are they extremely cost effective, but they work well to reduce false alarms, and can give an immediate response for the police or local authorities. The software is also a great asset for building a criminal case or filing an insurance claim.
For more information on Cloud and Managed Video Surveillance and Remote Guarding and how it can help reduce theft, trespassing, and vandalism, please contact ControlByNet.