Quick detection and immediate action helps protect the vehicles at car dealerships.
Fun fact: A corvette can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds.
Less-fun fact: A corvette can still go 0 to 60 in less than three seconds when a thief is behind the wheel speeding away from your car dealership.
Car dealership lots contain high-value inventory—inventory that could quite literally drive away—making the need for speed take on an entirely new meaning.
A fast response time is essential for automotive dealership security. Fortunately, the right security setup can not only deter wrongdoers, but also instantly respond to issues, alerting business owners and scaring off would-be thieves.
While security systems should be tailored to each individual business, there are certain components that are essential for the ability to immediately understand and respond to a security concern.
Without the ability to remotely access your security camera feeds, you won’t know what happened until much, much later. While all functioning dealership security cameras should be able to give you recorded footage, only those with remote monitoring capabilities can let you check in at any time from any place with internet or cellular connectivity.
Remote access is what makes all the other elements of this list possible.
While remote monitoring capabilities are great, no one really wants to stay glued to their security footage 24/7. (Constantly watching footage isn’t effective in any sense; it’s all too easy for bored eyes to stray.) Advanced detection and analysis enable you and your team to focus on the crucial in-person interactions while the software monitors the feeds for you.
Depending on the software you use, the monitoring capabilities can range from advanced motion detection to behavioral analysis, allowing you to immediately investigate anything usual.
Advanced detection and analysis capabilities have many uses, but their core function is to let you know when something isn’t as it should be. The capability of a system to alert you to an issue is key when it comes to the ability to quickly respond.
An alert lets you verify or dismiss problems and gives you the chance to respond appropriately. If the situation calls for it, you can notify law enforcement personnel (who are much faster to respond to a crime in progress than to an incident that’s already over).
As car dealership staff members already have a lot on their plate, you might consider hiring a third-party monitoring service to verify alerts for you.
While your team and law enforcement can provide an in-person response, it typically takes at least some time to respond. Certain systems, however, allow you to respond at the scene instantly via flashing lights, floodlights, and sirens, scaring off perpetrators before they can commit their crime. To even more clearly communicate, some systems have loudspeakers that enable you to speak directly to the perpetrator.
Crimes at car dealerships range from vandalism to part theft to grand theft auto. No matter what the crime at your dealership is, it will be costly in more ways than one. The cost of the vehicle is only one part of this; increased operating costs and damaged reputations can also add up fast.
A rapid response to security concerns has an effect on a number of levels.
First, consider the fact that many criminals are repeat offenders. If your dealership proves to be an easy mark, it almost guarantees another visit (and unlike with customers, you don’t want the riffraff to return). If, however, your security system and team immediately mobilize to stop or catch the perp, their unsuccessful experience will send them searching for less-guarded lots.
Second, an immediate response (both of the automated lights-and-sounds variety and of the police-are-on-their-way variety) has a high likelihood of stopping the perpetrator before they finish their crime. This protects your assets and lessens the headache of repairs and police reports.
Third, in the unfortunate case of a theft, the ability to instantly share video footage with law enforcement can provide critical evidence that can lead to apprehension of the criminals and the recovery of the stolen goods.
Mobile security units, like the LVT Unit, offer the best when it comes to rapid response for auto dealership security concerns. Completely self-contained, these units can be moved to different sections of your lot as inventory fluctuates. Each LVT Unit can be equipped with lights and sirens and connects with the LVT Platform, which allows you to control and monitor your unit wherever you may be.
Interested in this rapid response package for your dealership? Contact LVT for a free demo today!
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