A Dallas shopping center was having an issue with crime at their property. Semi-trucks were parking in their lot overnight. Drug dealers, homeless people and other vagrants were making themselves at home. Of the eight shopping centers owned by Green Earth Realty, this one retail property was consuming 90 percent of owner Steve Zimmerman’s time.
To help combat these issues, Zimmerman hired security guards to be onsite around the clock. They even had the restaurant and bar on the property hire their own security guards. While it helped a little, nothing solved the problem.
Not only were the guards very costly, they weren’t reliable. Some days they would show up, some days they wouldn’t. Believe it or not, the guards were deterring customers. According to Zimmerman, “Having security guards that are visible to the public, makes your center look like a problem center.”
Because he never knew if the property was being watched, Zimmerman turned to Stealth Monitoring.
Live Video Monitoring Helps Reduce Crime
Stealth Monitoring installed security cameras around the Forest View Shopping Center to replace the unreliable guards. Trained monitoring operators began watching those cameras in real time to look for any suspicious and unwanted activity.
Since then, the solution has been very effective. The trucks have disappeared. The drug dealers are gone. The tenants are happier. Even more significant to Zimmerman, he has more time to concentrate on other things.
He says “You can’t compare what a security guard does with what Stealth does for us. They’re watching it. They’re proactive. They call the police when need be. And the response time to Stealth is a lot faster than when I call 911.”
In addition to live monitoring, Stealth has a team of video review experts who will examine hours of footage to find evidence of any incidents that may have occurred on the property, no matter what the incident or time of day. Each customer receives the video clip to keep for their records.
Video Surveillance Can Deliver Peace of Mind
The results have been very successful. Criminal activity is at a minimum. The tenants are happier and when that happens, they stay loyal to the property.
Zimmerman says, “Stealth is economical, dependable, and professional. They treat your property like it’s their property.” He adds, “You won’t realize how much time you spend on your problem center until you don’t have to spend that time anymore.”
Stealth Monitoring proactively watches thousands of cameras every night for shopping centers, apartment communities, automobile dealerships, office buildings, construction sites and other commercial properties with outdoor assets.
If you would like more information about Stealth’s live video monitoring solutions, contact us.
About the Author
