Vehicle-related crimes on auto dealership lots – such as vandalism of vehicles; gaining unauthorized entry into vehicles; theft of wheels and tires or catalytic converters – damage more than just inventory. A dealership’s reputation can decline or be impacted, and customers may be less inclined to patronize your dealership in the future if they do not think their car will be secure.
Those impacts, in addition to the hard costs of repairs to any vehicles, can cause a decrease in sales or an increase employee dissatisfaction. Stealth’s live video monitoring solution, customized specifically for auto dealerships, provides the highest possible level of security to help deter unwanted behaviors on your lot.
A trained ECAM operator saw a male enter the property of an automotive dealership after hours on a bicycle. He rode out of camera view but quickly returned, whizzing by what appeared to be parked vehicle. Next, he rode between two parked vehicles and stopped. He opened the door of one of the vehicles, looked inside and tried the door on the other vehicle, but it was locked. As an audio warning was initiated, our operator contacted police and continued to monitor the situation as it was unfolding – relaying any relevant updates to the dispatcher.
He rode over to a storage shed, picked up an item and then dismounted his bike. On foot, he tampered with the storage shed, then got back on his bike and rode out of camera view.
Our quick-thinking operator changed cameras to gain a better view of the individual’s actions. He rode his bike through an open space of the lot.
Police arrived as the individual was moving and two officers intercepted and handcuffed the perpetrator. Three officers appeared to speak with the suspect who was sitting on the ground while two additional police cruisers arrived.
Bike Rider Darting Through Dealership No Match for Stealth’s Live Video Monitoring
Auto dealership vandalism and theft are most prevalent when there is little or no guardianship over vehicle inventory. Vehicles left unattended for extended periods of time, such as after-hours or overnight, without adequate security measures are a softer target for criminals and are at the greatest risk of damage or being stolen.
Adequate and audited lighting at night is a smart tactic for car dealerships because most perpetrators who perform crimes at night, prefer to carry out their activities in darkness as not to be seen. For more brazen criminals, lighting and illumination have very little effect, as seen in this video.
Riding a bicycle on auto dealership lots can add additional risk than just a trespasser entering the site on foot. The bike itself, when ridden near parked vehicle inventory, can scratch it by scraping the pedal against exterior paint or a handlebar dent a side mirror as the rider whizzes by. The rider could also become unbalanced and fall into parked autos or even crash into them.
ECAM’s highly skilled and experienced live video monitoring operators are trained to proactively deter perpetrators who could cause property damage, vandalism and steal from the site. Our operators use alerts from our advanced analytics that are configured on each video surveillance camera based on the use. As our operators watch incidents, they act on customized site protocols to make an immediate decision and help protect dealerships’ assets. Our proactive auto dealership-specific security solution is typically 25-60% more cost effective than traditional security solutions and provides the top-tier level of security.
Contact us to learn more about how ECAM can proactively watch your dealership’s perimeter, parking lots, access points and buildings to help deter vandalism, theft and other unwanted incidents or crimes.
