Securing Abandon buildings & Job sites... Save money in this economy!

The Commercial real estate industry has been hit especially hard by the current economic recession. Commercial vacancy rates, particularly in the Bay Area, are at all time highs and building owners, contractors and property managers are being uniquely challenged to do more with less.

Compounding the problem is the fact that theft and vandalism rates always surge during tough economic times, forcing many budget-strapped companies to feel like they have to spend lots of money on often costly security measures in order to stay protected.

As a result, security is viewed by most as a necessary evil in terms of budgetary spending. Nobody likes to pay for it, but everyone needs it to varying degrees. This is especially true for building owners and property managers who consistently struggle with keeping their properties secure at the lowest possible cost.

In order to keep costs down, many companies fall into a trap by thinking they are somehow immune to common security concerns such as theft, vandalism, property damage, etc. They adopt the attitude that since they've not been affected yet, there's no need to put preventative measures in place, and they choose to wait until a problem surfaces before doing anything about it. Essentially, they are playing Russian Roulette with the safety and security of two of their biggest corporate assets - their people and property.

The same is also true for those companies shelling out thousands of dollars each month for site security and still dealing with security headaches on an all too frequent basis. In order to avoid falling into these pitfalls, trust the age old saying - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But also keep in mind that securing your properties doesn't have to cost you a fortune.

In fact, there are many things companies can do to maximize their security protection while minimizing their security costs. Below is a list of tips for getting the most protection for your money:

Exterior Lighting- Don't leave exterior lights on around a vacant property at night time as some would-be thieves prefer to target buildings with lights on. Instead, install motion detector lighting on the property so that when a trespasser nears the building, they are caught by surprise and unsure if they have been identified or seen by security. This method will also save you money each month on your electricity bill.

Landscaping - With this economy, homeless encampments on commercial property sites are rising sharply. To prevent this from occurring, ensure that bushes and trees surrounding the property are trimmed down. This will deter homeless from embedding in the bushes, as well as prevent criminals from accessing the roof tops using nearby trees. Routine patrols by a security company can also help keep homeless off of your property.

Fencing -- Fence in any open areas that are subject to homeless encampment or illegal dumping. These areas typically consist of loading dock areas and the rear alley ways of buildings. This will often serve as a deterrent on the property and can save the building owner thousands of dollars in clean up fees.

Dumpsters - Remove and/or lock up garbage dumpsters to prevent any illegal dumping activity from occurring on the premises. For a small fee, your waste management company can install a lock on your dumpsters.

Equipment - Within vacant buildings, cover or remove all expensive pieces of equipment away from doors and windows so they are out of eyesight. This will make a vacant building less enticing to would-be thieves scoping out a property from the outside.

Wireless Alarms - With no hard wires to cut, would-be thieves and trespassers are unable to disarm a wireless alarm system. Commercial-grade wireless alarms, like The Snitch system from Creative Security Company, come equipped with loud sirens, strobe lights, and indoor/outdoor motion sensors. These systems are big deterrents that often stop unauthorized parties from accessing a property unlawfully.

Combined with alarm response services provided by a security company, you can add an extra layer of protection that prevents theft/damage from occurring at a property for under a thousand dollars a month.

Also an added plus, with the technology available today in commercial-grade wireless alarm systems, many commercial insurance carriers will provide massive discounts to their clients for having these systems installed in their buildings.

Electrical Rooms - Copper thieves target electrical rooms located adjacent to a building and enter through fenced areas to remove thousands of dollars worth of copper lines. Oftentimes, thieves leave the electrical power on and/or expose live electrical wires, causing these rooms to be extremely hazardous for unsuspecting building owners and property managers viewing the property. If the lights are not activating and power appears to be off when an owner or property manager attempts to view a property, notify your facilities manager or contact an electrician immediately because merely entering the electrical room can be highly dangerous. Installing a commercial-grade wireless alarm system can typically prevent this problem from occurring.

Site Security - A round-the-clock guard service is not a cost efficient way of addressing a vacant building's security issues. Guards cannot protect all sides of a building at once, resulting in ongoing gaps in security coverage that provide opportunity for criminals to gain access to a property. Typically, the cost for a 24hr-a-day on-site guard service runs approximately $14k per month per building, which is a fixed, hard cost to justify in any economy.

CCTV Cameras - Don't spend the money on installing CCTV cameras. Though they can be a deterrent for theft and illegal dumping, seldom are closed-circuit television cameras found useful. Often companies spend many thousands of dollars installing, updating and monitoring cameras only to have an incident still occur at their site. More often than not, when attempting to pull video footage of the incident, the suspects are wearing clothing that conceals their identities and their vehicles have no license plates, essentially providing the local police departments with little to no details to pursue the suspects.

In addition to these security tips, it's also good for building owners and property managers to be mindful of how burglars and thieves know a property is vacant and/or easily accessible. When securing a property, keep the following in mind:

When targeting commercial sites, thieves merely have to drive through the commercial districts and look for the large signage indicating a building is for sale/lease. If there are no cars in the parking lot, that is confirmation a building is not occupied.

The suspects often return during the evening hours or on the weekend to attempt to activate an alarm and then wait to see if anyone responds. Burglars oftentimes set the alarms off two or three times knowing that the police or security company will not likely continue to respond to what appears to be a false alarm. At this point, thieves usually attempt to make entry on a property, with lookout partners ready to alert them if/when security returns.

A new type of thief has emerged during this down economy. The recently laid-off electrician, plumber, roofer, landscaper, etc. with inside knowledge of the assets available on a property, and possibly aware of a building's security, is the latest type of criminal many building owners and/or property managers should be wary of. Unemployed contractors now account for a high percentage of burglary arrests at commercial properties and construction sites.

Typically, these thieves are wearing the appropriate uniforms and will attempt to convince security, building owners and/or property managers that they have permission to be on the property.

When faced with these situations, it may seem like a daunting and costly task to protect a property against would-be thieves who may have the upper hand. However, by becoming more familiar with how thieves, vandals, homeless, etc. operate, and by using some of the simple, and affordable security measures outlined above, building owners and property managers can start to shift the balance of power back into their own hands and make their properties more secure without breaking the bank...

The team at Creative Security Company is always available to answer your security-related questions.

We will also offer a free security assessment to all BOMA Oakland/East Bay members. Feel free to contact us at 408-295-2600 for more information.

--Brian Wall, VP of Operations at Creative Security Company (CSC) Inc.

CSC is security services company based in Silicon Valley. CSC is owned and managed by retired San Jose law enforcement officers who actively investigate, surveil, and arrest perpetrators in order to keep our clients protected.

Corporate Headquarters
150 S. Autumn, Suite B
San Jose, CA 95110
www.creativesecurity.com