Parking lots are some of the most common locations for “street” robberies. These street robberies can hurt the business. When customers fear being robbed at a specific location, they will avoid that location and head for a “safer” area. There are steps business owners and employers can take to discourage street robberies in a specific area and create a safe community for customers and neighbors!
- Light the parking lot and area immediately surrounding the facility. A recent study from the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute compared the performance of high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting fixtures versus LEDs in parking lots. Overall, improved lighting delivered with better uniformity was the popular choice among the invited users and guests. Furthermore, LEDs offered better uniformity than the larger HID fixtures, plus at a savings of as much as 75 percent.
- Place video cameras in the parking lot and put up signs announcing their presence. Change the videotapes regularly. A tape used more than four or five times gives poor quality results and investigators may not be able to get useful “still” photos from it for the investigation Also, make sure to update your cavers firmware on a regular basis. In our previous post, we discussed how even good cameras that have been correctly set up can fall prey to hacking.
- Keep windows clear of signs so employees can see any suspicious subjects outside the business and report them to the police.
- Discourage loitering by placing “no loitering” signs outside, and enforce the signs by calling the police for chronic loiterers.
- Get to know other area business owners and your local law enforcement agency.
Look for more news about saving energy at your facility by subscribing to our Facebook and Twitter feeds for frequent updates each week. For assistance with parking safety at your facility, contact Vanguard Resources.