Intruders, thieves, trespassers, loiterers and the like break into apartment buildings for different reasons. However, one thing all these reasons have in common is that they use unwanted behaviors to produce unwanted events and situations. Property owners and managers are left cleaning up these messes and reassuring residents that they are safe, secure and protected.
The following video shows an intruder breaking in for no clear reason and how Stealth’s proactive, preventative security solution helped deter an unwanted and potentially harmful situation.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., a highly trained ECAM security operator saw an individual with a backpack pacing back and forth in front of an apartment building’s main glass door. He walked out of camera view.
The individual returned to the same glass door and our operator used the interiorly placed camera to watch. The operator reported that he saw the individual use a tool to slip between the door and the frame to activate the push-bar from the inside. Our operator contacted local police to report a break-in.
The trespasser walked through the building and was seen collecting packages. He then exited the building onto the street where he was met by a gun-drawn officer and another officer who intercepted and handcuffed the trespasser.
Perimeter Security in the Form of Live Video Monitoring
Apartment owners and managers are concerned with residents’ safety, property damage and alleviating liability claims. These concerns are directly related to layout, design and flow of the apartment community.
In metropolitan areas, many apartment communities are built just off main streets with only a sidewalk separating vehicles driving by and main entry doors into apartment communities. These buildings typically don’t have room for perimeter fencing or gates, but they must still harden their perimeters to help maintain security. At minimum, most have access control keypads in which residents enter a code, scan a card or use a biometric, such as their finger, to gain authorized access.
As a first line of defense, keypad access is a viable option, barring no one piggybacks off authorized individuals by simply following them through the door or damages the door or surrounding structure to gain access. Therefore, keypad access needs backup and live remote monitoring is the answer.
When typical access control methods – keypads, physical keys, and now, touchless options – are paired with our live video monitoring it creates a proactive, preventative solution, rather than reactive. Should an individual enter the wrong code into the keypad, for example, access should be denied. This is reactive; the door just remains locked.
With Stealth’s live video monitoring deployed in the same situation, alongside the keypad, however, not only would the door remain locked, but our high-definition video cameras would be recording, creating video data and evidence of the event. At the same time, our highly trained security operators would be watching the incident in real time and act to help deter the situation. Our operators can activate on-site speakers that articulate audio warnings; call police dispatch to report an event in progress; and contact on-call managers with real time details of what is happening on their property.
Stealth has developed strong relationships with police departments across North America. When one of our operators call, police dispatch knows that there a situation in progress. Because of this, our calls to police are typically escalated, which may result in officers arriving on your property while suspects are still present. We also archive incidents on video. Several departments will request video recordings of incidents after the fact. We quickly provide these which helps to foster good relations.
Contact our multifamily security specialists to learn how to pair your current access control security method with our live video monitoring to create an all-encompassing, cost-effective, proactive, preventative security solution.
