Security is important both for homes and for businesses. When it comes to apartment safety in complexes with multiple dwellings, a mixture of both residential and commercial security is necessary to ensure everyone is safe and secure.
What do we mean by a mixture of both? In an apartment complex, each individual owner must take responsibility for keeping their dwelling locked up tight and secure from thieves and unwanted visitors. Meanwhile, property management and landlords owe it to their tenants to ensure that the property grounds and common areas are safe and act as a deterrent to those who would enter to cause problems.
Apartment Safety for Individuals
Let’s begin with what individual renters can do to decrease the likelihood of their home becoming a target for criminals. Although many renters would be surprised at the suggestion, a home security system is something that no apartment should be without.
“What?” you may say. “Installation is expensive and involves modifications that my landlord will never go for. Besides, I’m renting. I’m not going to pay for a system I have to leave whenever I move!”
With improvements in home security technology, a security system for renters makes perfect sense. Today’s home security systems are easy and affordable to install. Even better, their wireless technology means that nothing is anchored in permanently — making them easy to take with you should you eventually move on.
Apart from the ease of installing and moving your system, a security system for an apartment can give you peace of mind. Many apartments are located in urban areas where crime rates are higher. In addition to this, a constant flow of tenants, friends, and family members in and out of apartment complexes makes it difficult for neighbors to know when someone is hanging around who doesn’t belong.
Because of this, ensure that your apartment has good locks on the door. If your landlord won’t spring for them, consider getting a new landlord or purchasing new locks yourself (the added peace of mind is worth it). A security system can help keep you and your home safe from anyone who may target it, immediately notifying you and/or the authorities should someone enter when the alarm is set.
Apartment Safety on the Business Side
To have a truly secure apartment complex, the renters and the landlord/property management need to work together to add elements that help make it safe. On the business side, management can invest in things such as access control and video surveillance create an additional level of security around the grounds.
How does access control work? The entry/exit doors on the apartment building are fitted with specialized locks and card readers. Each tenant is given a key fob, which must be scanned to unlock the door. This keeps anyone besides tenants (and those they invite) from getting into the building at all. It also helps keep track of who enters with which code at what time in case an incident does take place.
Another element of apartment safety is the installation and use of video cameras. These are helpful to property managers and landlords on multiple levels. Video cameras deter crime and bad behavior amongst visitors (and even tenants themselves). Video playback can help you determine what happened should a car be broken into or vandalized, an apartment burglarized, or someone gets attacked while on the property. Surveillance footage can also be helpful in relieving the apartment complex of any liability if an accident occurs due to someone behaving recklessly.
Finally, some apartment complexes, depending on their size, may be required to have monitored fire systems. That means smoke and carbon monoxide detectors will alert the authorities in the event of an alarm.
Working Together to Elevate Safety
For the ultimate in apartment safety, it’s always best if tenants and property management/landlords step in and take care of their part of the equation. When each apartment is monitored by a home security system, the building is secured with access control locks, and all common areas are being monitored by security cameras, an apartment complex becomes quite an unfriendly place for criminals, indeed.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 30 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
