Loitering is often the precursor to more menacing criminal activities. In some cases, it may put your tenants and visitors in danger. Residents at a Madison, Wisconsin senior living apartment complex faced an armed individual with a warrant for his arrest.
A 60-year-old resident saw a man asleep on a bench outside of her building. She asked him to leave but he remained on the property. The woman pulled out her phone to call police and the suspect knocked her to the ground, pulled out his gun and grabbed her phone. Two other residents attempted to call 911, but the suspect stole their phones, as well. Fortunately, one of the calls had briefly gotten through and officers were on the way. When they arrived, they saw the fleeing suspect, still holding a gun. After a chase involving officers on foot and in cars, the perpetrator was caught and arrested on a middle school playground. He was also wanted for his involvement in other burglaries and violent offenses, including a kidnapping in September.
It’s important to deter loitering before it becomes a more serious problem. Because residents are typically not equipped to handle certain situations, property managers should consider a proactive security service to help keep them safe. Our live video monitoring solution utilizes trained operators who watch surveillance cameras in real time. Depending on the situation, they will activate an on-site speaker warning and call police.
In this video, our monitoring operators saw a man loitering underneath the staircase at a Dallas, Texas property. We contacted the on-site guard, who instructed the man to leave the premises.
If you would like more information about live video monitoring as a proactive apartment security solution, click here. If you would like to speak to one of our security specialists, click here.
