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Sep 01
2010
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5 Things To Do NOW to Deter Crime From Your Apartment Community
Posted by: Daisy Nguyen on Sep 1, 2010 13:02 Tagged in: Property Management , Apartment Community
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Crime is an issue in any apartment community. Because apartments communities are denser populations, your apartment complex can be appealing to criminals - in a short amount of time, over a short distance of space, they have access to a higher number of "opportunities." What are some affordable tips that you can implement NOW that can help deter crime from your apartment communities?
5 Things YOU Can Do NOW to Deter Crime From Your Apartment Communities:
- Take care of graffiti as soon as possible. Leaving a graffiti tag on your building only sends the message that your management either doesn't care or is lax in the maintenance of the building. If you are lax with the maintenance of the building, would be thieves may believe you will be lax with the security of the building, the legal process, etc.
- Install good lightening around the perimeter of your community/apartment building. When I spoke with the Minneapolis police department, they don't recommend motion lightening in favor of lightening that is turned on a dusk and off at dawn. Their reason: crooks will run into a dark alley, along a dark street and look for opportunities. Even if the lights come on once they on that street or alley, you've invited them in. Rather, light the streets and alleys, and those same crooks will avoid your street/alley way altogether.
- Leave windows to public areas unobstructed & lighted. Again, the best deterrent in crime is the appearance that the entire neighborhood could be watching. Especially where your community space may face a busy street, make sure the view into the space (i.e. community room) is not obstructed by potted plants, trees, etc. Thieves don't want to be seen when they are thieving. Where possible, install motion lightening in yourinterior public spaces - if someone were to break into your community room or office after hours, the space will light up, and with the windows unobstructed, any activity going on in your community room has the possibility of being seen by all.
- Plant thorny vines or plants along walls or fences to deny access & prevent graffiti. If you have an area that is frequently tagged with graffiti, have an area that attracts unwanted activity, or have a wall that you want to keep people off - plant thorny vines or bushes. Nobody likes to be pricked by rose bushes or thorny vines - even toughened criminals or your harmless neighborhood juveniles.
- In parking areas, like garages & parking lots, post signs to remind residents and guests to lock their cars and take their valuables with them.
Don't be a willing victim. Without the right "opportunities" for criminals, they WILL move onto greener pastures - that don't include your apartment buildings.
These are my favorite cost effective, affordable, easy to implement crime deterrents - what are yours?
You can read the original blog entry on my blog at: http://blog.rentsoda.com/2010/09/5-things-to-do-now-to-deter-crime-from-your-apartment-community/
Daisy Nguyen is owner and CEO of RENT SODA, a consulting company offering apartment marketing, business & operations consulting and apartment industry training.
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Comments (7)
Dan: thank you!
I agree sites shield walk their property at night to see it through a resident's eyes (for curb appeal) AND through the perspective of crime deterrent opportunities - crime happens at all times, especially at night.
I agree sites shield walk their property at night to see it through a resident's eyes (for curb appeal) AND through the perspective of crime deterrent opportunities - crime happens at all times, especially at night.
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Daisy... How well so you think courtesy officer programs work? At one of our properties, we are setting up an "on call" apartment available to our city emergency workers, giving them a space to relax while on duty... Place to catch up on paperwork and at the same time maintaining a high level of visible traffic from a variety of marked cars. I am interested in getting your thoughts...
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Tara: I LOVE courtesy officer programs - I actually had a building in a downtown area that had a courtesy officer, and it worked out GREAT for them. The building never had any security or crime issues. It was not guaranteed, but criminals tend to avoid areas where police officers hang around! This building was a GREAT building in an up and coming area. It was a tax-credit affordable building in a pretty high end part of town. It worked really well.
On another note, we were looking to duplicate the courtesy officer program at another property, and it was met with some resistance. The property was in a trendier area of town, and the demographics were 20-somethings. They perceived it as a "big brother" program. We opted not to provide space for a courtesy office for that building, and instead paid for a full-time 24 hour concierge. This was a SUPER expensive alternative (typically, courtesy officers are not an expense except for the space that you give them), but this building was a luxury building and the concierge was always part of the budget, so not a huge change for this particular site. The "concierge" did not act as security and the property did not guarantee security. However, along the same lines as the tips from my post above - criminals and thieves look for "opportunities." A building that has a 24hour live person paying attention is not a great "opportunity" for them.
I hope this helps you!
-Daisy
On another note, we were looking to duplicate the courtesy officer program at another property, and it was met with some resistance. The property was in a trendier area of town, and the demographics were 20-somethings. They perceived it as a "big brother" program. We opted not to provide space for a courtesy office for that building, and instead paid for a full-time 24 hour concierge. This was a SUPER expensive alternative (typically, courtesy officers are not an expense except for the space that you give them), but this building was a luxury building and the concierge was always part of the budget, so not a huge change for this particular site. The "concierge" did not act as security and the property did not guarantee security. However, along the same lines as the tips from my post above - criminals and thieves look for "opportunities." A building that has a 24hour live person paying attention is not a great "opportunity" for them.
I hope this helps you!
-Daisy
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I am very interested in how you set up a courtsey officer location. What do you do about keys and such? I assume you furnish the apartment? To what extent? Please share!
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April:
We worked with the police department, and basically, we offer them the use of office space for free. They brought in their own desks/chairs, etc. We paid all utilities, except phone. We gave them keys. In the buildings where we've done this, it's usually a space on the first floor next to retail/commercial space. (mixed use building) so it wasn't an apartment.
Hope that helps!
-Daisy
We worked with the police department, and basically, we offer them the use of office space for free. They brought in their own desks/chairs, etc. We paid all utilities, except phone. We gave them keys. In the buildings where we've done this, it's usually a space on the first floor next to retail/commercial space. (mixed use building) so it wasn't an apartment.
Hope that helps!
-Daisy
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Great blog Daisy. I found one of the best ways to deter crime is to make friends with the local police departments. Invite them to tour your community and to your community functions. Let them know they are welcome to visit the community center anytime to work on paperwork, have a cup of coffee and take a break. It is also important to let them know that you will help them by pressing charges if they find folks that are committing crimes on your property.
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of the MF properties I have designed during my career (over 350 total - in 17 states), I provided a "Site Light Plan" with the construction drawings...the lights were timed to come on at
DARK and stay on until morning light...I have always personally
driven through a MF property at night (before I decided to lease)...wanted to ensure it was well lighted. There are NOW on
the market some VERY energy efficent lights/lamps that can be
mounted on buildings that will save major $$$ for a property.
I have always believed that a "well lighted site" is a MAJOR deterrant to crime...the smart criminals (if there really is such a person) will pass up a well lighted site...and look for one where they don't see many lights. In a blog I wrote today,
I mention that I have found that WAY TOO MANY Property Managers are NOT walking their sites at NIGHT...should at least once per month, to ensure ALL of the lights are working properly.