California’s experience has shown that throwing billions at the homeless problem isn’t going to solve it or help the retail industry. CNN reports the Golden State spent $17.5 billion in four years on resolving the homelessness crisis. Instead of shrinking, the number of unhoused climbed. This problem isn’t limited to California, but the state has 170,000 unhoused people, making it one of the worst affected states.
The story explains that the amount of money could have been used to pay rent for every unhoused person. Of course, it’s not that simple. With the median rent at $2,200 for a two-bedroom apartment, the bigger problem is that housing isn’t affordable in California. Even if there are plans to build affordable housing, many communities are fighting it.
How the Unhoused Affects Retail Properties
Besides expensive housing, record-breaking inflation is also largely to blame. Grocery bills have doubled and maybe even tripled. A PBS News Hour story shows consumer prices climbed 9.1%. It’s the largest increase since 1981. The cost of necessities soared faster than incomes.
Homeless individuals often choose retail centers as places to camp out for a variety of practical reasons. Retail centers typically provide some level of shelter from the elements, such as awnings, overhangs, and alcoves, which can offer temporary relief from harsh weather conditions. These areas also often have access to public restrooms, which can address hygiene needs.
The presence of businesses nearby can offer opportunities for panhandling or finding discarded items that might be useful. Additionally, retail centers tend to be located in high-traffic areas, increasing the chances of receiving assistance or support from passersby who may be more inclined to offer food, money, or other forms of aid.
Despite the challenges of homelessness, individuals who set up camp in retail centers might find a semblance of safety, access to resources, and potential interactions that can ease their day-to-day struggles.
Additionally, there are some with troubling or aggressive behavior and others who panhandle on the retail property. Moreover, the unhoused don’t always leave before employees and shoppers arrive. Employees may feel unsafe in asking people to leave the property. This can affect security and brand reputation.
Even if they leave before the first employee arrives for the day, this can hurt the shopping center’s brand. Potential customers drive past the retail center at night and early in the morning on their way to work. If they notice encampments, they could look to shop elsewhere.
Believe it or not, the unhoused can create liability issues for the retail property. If someone decides to climb a ladder on the retail property and falls, the property owner could be held liable for the injuries.
In a CBS News story, an employee shared that the growing problem of homelessness forced their retail store to shut down. Theft is also widespread as there’s a connection between the rise in thefts and the crime being classified as only a misdemeanor.
If state funding isn’t solving the problem related to the unhoused, then what can retail properties do to protect themselves? They can invest in a proactive security solution amongst other layers of alternative solutions, and we look forward to educating landlords/asset managers/property managers on their options.
How Proactive Security Helps Retail Properties Protect Their Tenants
Most conventional security solutions tend to be reactive. This means they don’t do anything until after someone discovers a crime took place on the retail property. The latest advancements in security technologies have made it possible to create a proactive and cost-effective retail property security solution.
The proactive solution is video surveillance with monitoring. What’s the difference between passive and proactive security? As stated before, passive security tends to identify incidents after they happen instead of before or as they occur. Live video monitoring can help spot problems early before the trespassers escalate to larger risks.
Video surveillance with remote monitoring may help deter loitering, vagrancy, theft, and vandalism. The monitoring component helps it stand out from traditional video security solutions. The monitoring is done by two resources: trained human monitoring operators and video analytics technology. The best solutions involve the ideal combination of technology and human intelligence.
Security cameras that incorporate video analytics combined with human monitoring can view select parts of the retail property where cameras are viewing, including storefronts and the back alley of the building. Trained monitoring operators, located in remote monitoring centers, can scan the property and its surroundings.
Here are the five reasons to be proactive with retail center security:
- Deter transients
- Clean up property
- Punishment for theft has a lower classification.
- Shrink continues to be a problem.
- Help protect more than inventory.
Retail Property Video Surveillance Does More Than Deter the Unhoused
Video surveillance with remote monitoring may benefit your retail center in other ways.
Any downtime caused by vandalism, theft, or damage could cost a lot of money, and security incidents can result in significant business interruptions. Proactive security helps lower the risk of this happening. This, in turn, can help avoid the costs associated with incident response.
Security incidents could break customer trust and loyalty. When this happens, customers may take their business to a competitor. Proactive security measures can show through actions that the company is committed to protecting the customers and their data. This helps enhance trust and loyalty, which helps them retain and attract customers.
Overall, investing in proactive security measures helps protect a retail center’s assets, reduce financial risks, and save money in the long run by helping deter or minimize the impact of security incidents. Clients who work with ECAM often see a return on their investment within months.
Implementing video surveillance with remote monitoring helps cut the likelihood of unhoused individuals camping on your property. To help maximize your security investment, work with a company that has retail property security experience. Start by watching videos of remote video surveillance in action in the shopping center and retail industry.
ECAM has an advantage that many security vendors don’t have. We have partnerships with law enforcement across the U.S. and Canada. We can customize a security system to meet your retail property’s requirements and budget.
To learn more about video surveillance security technology, pick up this video monitoring guide. If you’d like to learn more now or after reading the guide, please contact us.
