Surveillance cameras are crucial for parking lot security, but mobile security units (MSUs) enhance their effectiveness by eliminating blind spots, deterring crime, and offering flexible, scalable solutions for businesses.
As a kid at camp, I played the swimming game, “Marco Polo” in the pool. It’s similar to tag, where there is one person assigned as the chaser and everyone else is trying to avoid being tagged by that person. The chaser who has their eyes closed yells, “Marco” while everyone else responds “Polo.” The chaser then tries to swim and tag the others based on the direction of where the sounds are coming from. As you can imagine, swimming blind puts you at a huge disadvantage and if you are a poor swimmer, it only makes the deficiency greater.
Like the chaser in Marco Polo, you are at a huge security disadvantage if you can’t see. That’s why you need surveillance cameras to bolster your parking lot security.
You can only battle and protect what you can see and when it comes to parking lot safety, there are numerous distinct challenges. Firstly, parking lots are built to maximize occupancy and are not necessarily built with clear and optimal sightlines in mind. Therefore, there are plenty of blind spots in parking lots that criminals can use to their advantage. In addition, because there are so many other parked vehicles and foot traffic from shoppers, they can blend in seamlessly and move freely without being noticed.
According to 2022 FBI data, parking lots are the third most common location for violent crimes with about 1,400 incidents/cases happening each day. In addition to violent crimes, there are approximately 1.2 million crimes involving stolen vehicles every year in parking lots.
Most security experts agree that surveillance cameras are one of the pillars of parking lot security. However, due to their immobility, blind spots have always been a challenge. With the advent of mobile security units (MSU), surveillance cameras have become even more effective as businesses can now ensure that cameras can be moved and provide video coverage in places their stationary predecessors couldn’t. Part of this lies that each unit is self-contained, self-powered, and self-sufficient. It’s a turn-key solution that can be up and running in minutes, all without being tethered to a power source.
Mobile security units are effective tools to discover, deter, and defend. Their prominent presence alone can be a meaningful deterrent from criminals looking for an easy and unprotected target. Recently, the Loss Prevention Research Council in collaboration with the ACCESS Taskforce which was made up of local retail and law enforcement partners along with LVT sought to monitor and combat crime in Paducah, Kentucky and Opelika, Alabama. After both cities ranked in the ninetieth percentile of crime and having reported year-over-year increases in crime, they both experienced significant decreases after utilizing mobile security units for a year. Both cities saw a reduction of crime of at least 10% and about 20% when it came to property crime. The cities also each experienced a decrease in a various mix of unlawful acts ranging from disorderly conduct, shoplifting, trespassing, burglary, and weapons violations.
While mobile security units take up a relatively small footprint, their technological prowess is quite powerful. On the surface, the surveillance cameras are the most noticeable part of the units but the technology that lies beneath offers so much more. Low light visibility and infrared technology has improved the cameras’ ability to monitor areas even in some of the darkest conditions. Strobe lights and a loudspeaker gives users the ability to warn and scare away trespassers before they commit a criminal act. All of this can be accessed remotely, including video playback, so that teams can control things from anywhere in the world with a computer or smart device. It’s easy to see why many consider MSU’s the best parking lot security camera systems for enhanced safety.
Mobile surveillance units are active deterrents in parking lots that meet potential criminals before they even step foot into a retail space or business. By providing a proactive presence from the beginning, it can significantly aid in reducing crime within the walls of your premises. In fact, according to the 2022 study by the Loss Prevention Council, Opelika, Alabama experienced a 40% drop in shoplifting after implementing mobile security units. This comes after experiencing a 20% shoplifting increase just the year before. In Paducah, Kentucky burglaries and break-ins decreased by 54% just after six months of adding mobile security units in their parking lots.
Not only are mobile security units a powerful and flexible tool, but they are easily scalable to meet the needs and growth of your business. An individual unit can be used, or numerous units can be deployed together or integrated into a bigger enterprise security plan. To see the units in action or to find out how LVT might be able to partner with you for any security needs, please reach out discuss how LVT can be part of your security solution.
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