Crime & Security

Five Tips for Maximizing Parking Lot Safety

December 24, 2013    

As the holiday shopping season wanes and daylight hours are minimal, we are reminded of the importance of parking lot safety and the continued need to be vigilant in the coming months. Typically, there’s a spike in reported thefts during and shortly after the holiday season as residents...

Eight Tips to Improve Control over Unit Keys, Reduce Liability

May 10, 2013    

It’s essential to keep keys on hand so that you can enter your site’s units in an emergency. But you’re asking for trouble if you don’t keep careful track of the keys you have for this purpose. An intruder might get hold of a unit key and use it to commit a crime, such as...

What to Do if You Find a "Meth" Lab at Your Site

September 18, 2012    

Methamphetamine (meth) use has crept up the social ladder and now can be found at all social strata. The meth problem is pervasive. Meth-making operations have been uncovered in all 50 states. And according to a nationwide survey of 500 law-enforcement agencies in 45 states by the National...

Defend Against False Claims with Criminal Incident Report

February 2, 2012    

If a crime victim sues your site for negligence, you'll probably be second-guessed for taking inadequate security precautions. If only you had managed things more carefully, the victim's lawyer and expert witnesses will argue, you could have prevented the crime. To justify your actions...

Five Tips to Prevent Drugs from Infiltrating Your Site

December 15, 2011    

Drug dealing at assisted sites isn't just a problem for law enforcement. It's also a severe threat to sites' profitability and livability. Drug dealers and their customers often vandalize site security features to ensure ready access to dealers' units or to nonpublic areas where...

Take Swift, Strong Measures to Wipe Out Graffiti

April 30, 2010    

Some may call it an art form, but graffiti does nothing to enhance the beauty of your site. In fact, it has the opposite effect.

“At its core, graffiti is vandalism,” says Chris McGoey, a security consultant based in California. “It's a crime. It creates property...

Keep Log of Door and Lock Repairs to Boost Safety, Reduce Liability

March 28, 2010    

A resident reports a broken lock in her unit. It's late in the evening, so you decide to wait until the next morning to have it checked out by maintenance staff. That's a mistake you don't want to make, say security experts. Your failure to repair or replace the lock immediately...

Adopt No-Trespassing Policy to Boost Site Security

April 23, 2009    

The Alabama Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (AAHRA) is cracking down on the unwanted presence of drug dealers and those engaging in criminal activity at its public housing sites. In February 2009, the 150-member association of housing authorities in the state revised its...