It is a challenge for commercial property owners to prevent vandalism. The destruction can impact a business in a number of ways. Not only does it damage your property, which takes time and money to repair, it can effect business operations and working conditions. Graffiti and other defacement can harm your reputation and possibly deter potential customers from entering your premises. Even damaged HVAC systems can bring a business to a standstill.
Vandals Cause More Than $42,000 Worth of Damage at Shopping Center
Fayetteville Police are looking for two juveniles between the ages of 12 and 14 who are accused of causing more than $42,000 worth of property damage. The police department responded to a vandalism call at a shopping center on a Sunday evening. According to the surveillance video, two boys walked behind a shopping center and gained access to the roof.
The suspects destroyed several HVAC systems, refrigeration systems, CO2 tanks, and breaker boxes. Live video monitoring was not reported and the suspects have not been caught.
This Arkansas shopping center is not a Stealth Monitoring client.
What Are Some Ways to Prevent Vandalism?
It is virtually impossible to completely prevent all acts of vandalism. However, there are several things you can do to help prevent vandals from striking your property, some of which may require collaboration with a third party.
1) Increase Lighting
Vandals do not want to be seen and therefore, use the cover of night to hide their activities. Keeping your property well-lit is an easy and valuable way to deter property damage.
2) Keep Your Property Neat
When your premises are clean and orderly, they will be less likely to be hit. Vandals view messy and unkept properties as an invitation.
3) Don’t Ignore It
If vandals strike your property, it is important to clean it up and make repairs as quickly as possible. Vandalism tends to encourage more vandalism, as well as other types of property crime. Prompt cleanup will also send a message that you won’t tolerate any type of destruction.
4) Hire a Third Party Video Monitoring Company
Working with a video surveillance company is a proactive measure you can take to help prevent vandalism. It is important to partner with a company that specializes in retail properties since they understand the types of risks and security concerns associated with shopping plazas. Stealth Monitoring specialists will work with you to determine the best solution for your property.
Many of Stealth’s shopping center clients use vandal-resistant, dome surveillance cameras. These cameras are encased in a protective cover that can withstand blunt force trauma.
Trained security operators watch shopping centers and other commercial properties in real time. If they see suspicious activity like vandalism, they can immediately activate an on-site speaker warning and if necessary, call police. Live surveillance video monitoring verifies the undesirable activity as a crime in progress, which receives a quicker response from local police.
Be proactive and take the necessary steps to help deter criminal activity at your property.
Stealth Monitoring, a privately held company with U.S. headquarters in Dallas, TX, and Canadian headquarters in Toronto, ON, is North America’s leading provider of live video monitoring solutions. We specialize in proactive and intelligent video monitoring technology that can significantly improve threat detection and police response. Our security solutions feature advanced technology, coupled with human intelligence and efficient processes, to help detect and deter crime while reducing security guard and other expenses. We are also heavily invested in the future of computer vision and artificial intelligence. We are actively developing new technologies that can enable executives with valuable business intelligence data to improve their day-to-day operations and decision-making abilities. We have over 500 employees, 15 offices, and 3 redundant live video monitoring control centers. Our team proactively monitors 20,000+ cameras daily, resulting in more than 15,000 deterred crimes, 500+ arrests and 35,000+ analyzed customer videos every year, securing peace of mind for business owners throughout North America. Our clients include construction sites, shopping centers, apartment buildings, auto dealers, office buildings, industrial facilities, distribution yards, cannabis operations, and other businesses with outdoor assets. They range from large global enterprises to single location companies. Our proactive solutions can help reduce external and internal theft, vandalism, property damage and provide you with actionable business intelligence. We can even reduce or replace security guards at a fraction of the cost – up to 60% savings.
Please call toll-free (866) 382-3873 or contact Stealth today for more information to protect your outdoor assets. Visit the Stealth web site to see real videos of criminals being arrested at construction sites, multifamily apartments, shopping centers, office buildings, warehouses, auto dealerships, and other commercial real estate properties.
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