Security is an essential concern for prospective residents of a gated community. An effective security system is what attracts and retains residents.
Be aware of and avoid security mistakes in your gated community to keep your community as attractive as possible to new residents. Below are seven security mistakes to avoid to protect both your residents and your reputation.
SECURITY MISTAKES TO AVOID
1. UNSECURED ENTRIES
Don’t overlook any entry to your gated community. Simply putting a gate in place is not enough to secure an entry point. Sophisticated burglars can manipulate electronically controlled gates. If a gate is your only security protection, it might not hold up in some situations.
Secure every entry with a security officer and an access station to keep track of who’s going in and out.
2. NO DIRECT SECURITY CONTACT
Provide direct security contact to all residents in your community. This should be a contact that residents notify immediately when they see anything out of the ordinary.
Without direct security contact for your residents, intruders could be left to run free within your community for an extended period of time even after residents have noticed their presence.
For peace of mind and optimum security, residents should have a specific representative that responds immediately to security concerns.
3. OCCASIONAL ABSENCE OF SECURITY OFFICERS
Prospective burglars spy on gated communities to look out for a security breach to exploit. You create a security breach when you allow for even a temporary absence of security officers at an access point.
Schedule security officer shifts properly to ensure that access points and security stations are never left unmanned by security personnel.
4. LACK OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR RESIDENTS
Don’t overlook the importance of educating your residents regarding security protocol. Residents at gated communities appreciate any security efforts taken by management and are willing to cooperate with the protocol.
Hold a community meeting and distribute brochures and literature informing residents of security procedures at access points. Residents need to know what to do if they want to invite guests to the community without compromising security, so make sure they’re well informed.
5. LACK OF RESEARCH AND AWARENESS OF RISKS
A risk assessment is essential to anticipating and correcting security risks. Not only should a risk assessment pinpoint possible security breaches, but it should also include an analysis of crime in the area surrounding the community.
As the owner or manager of a gated community, introduce yourself to local law enforcement personnel and create a communication channel with them. Be sure to ask for advice on how to maximize security in your community, and ask them for information on the particular crime risks in the area.
6. INCOMPLETE VISITOR LOGS
Even guests who are invited to your community by residents should have to sign in to visitor logs that are organized digitally with a visitor management system. The more comprehensive and complete visitor logs are in your community, the more secure your community will be.
Guests should be required to show an official form of identification when they sign visitor logs to ensure that you know who’s coming and going. Visitor log records should show not only the identification of guests but also the time period during which they were in the community.
7. UNCLEAR ALLOCATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Your security staff members need to fully understand their responsibilities. Also, your residents need to understand their responsibilities when it comes to securing their properties.
Lay out your security policy in detail. Imprecise allocation of responsibilities among staff and residents leads to security lapses.
Contact us at American Global Security for more information on how to optimize security features in your gated community.