The Complete Guide to Parking Lot Security

Auto dealerships and commercial parking lots are common targets for crime, from property damage and vandalism to vehicle and car component theft. 

Managing the multiple security challenges presented to them can be overwhelming, especially with such a broad range of criminal threats, all of which manifest themselves in different ways.

With a global shortage of semi-conductors resulting in high numbers of catalytic converter thefts, the security of your lots and dealerships has never been more critical. 

That's why we have created this complete guide to parking lot and dealership security, providing step-by-step support on securing your assets, guests, customers, and employees.

The authors of this document have a combined 30-years of experience in delivering mobile surveillance systems around the world, and within this guide, they’ll be sharing their top tips and tools on parking lot security. 

Download the Complete Guide to Parking Lot Security

The Importance of Parking Lot and Auto Dealership Security 

Parking lots and auto dealerships are enticing targets often due to their ease of access, assumed lack of security, and high number of valuable property/vehicles located in a consolidated area.

Crimes like parking lot takeovers are on the rise, and these place vehicles, drivers, and the public at serious risk. In the worst case scenarios, causing death.

As business owners and property managers, you may not be aware of why you need to be responsible for managing parking lot crime when it only appears to impact parking lot users and the public. However, the consequences expand beyond this.

For businesses and properties faced with heavy parking lot crime or repeated incidents of it, there’s a high potential of negative consequences, including:

• Reduced footfall - If customers, visitors, or tenants feel unsafe in your parking lot, they may avoid using your business or staying at the property in case of being impacted by crime themselves.
  
  
• Reputational damage - News of repeated thefts, violent attacks, and other crime can spread quickly, especially with the rise in social media and this can create long-term reputational damage on your business or property.
  
  
• Increased lawsuits towards your business or property - Victims of parking lot crime can sue your business for inadequate security if found that you neglected your parking lot’s safety.
  
  
• Higher employee turnover - Unsafe work environments which include your parking lot play a large role in the employee turnover faced by a business as individuals may seek work in businesses that provide more security.
  
  
• Poor employee or tenant wellbeing - Parking lot crime creates fear, and this can lead them to the development or increase of stress, productivity, and lowered mental health.
  
  
• Increased insurance premiums - Repeated insurance claims required from repeated parking lot incidents will likely increase insurance premiums over time.

All of the above consequences are why your business or property management company should deploy security because otherwise you’re leaving yourself completely vulnerable to legal and physical damage.

Specific sectors such as retail, hospitality, healthcare, and logistics and distribution centers face increased risks based on a number of contributing factors. Due to this reason, additional surveillance is recommended.

As the USA's leading supplier of parking lot surveillance solutions, we’ve outlined the critical steps that property owners and businesses should take to prevent crimes in your lot or dealership: 

Organize a Site Survey

Understanding the nature of your site is critical to developing a security plan that caters to and targets the key dangers faced by your parking lot or dealership.

Your site survey should focus on the physical layout of your site, as this will determine the security measures and/or number of surveillance cameras your lot requires.

It will also help determine the best positioning of cameras, where additional signage will be most effective, and any existing systems that can be improved upon.

As part of our managed service, provided alongside our products, we offer a free site survey of your parking lot or dealership before installment. 

This allows us to establish any weak spots, gain insight into what cameras are required and where, and provide any additional feedback. 

To help build your understanding of this further, below provides a list of key questions we would ask to gain understanding of your parking lot’s existing security and goals for the future:

• What type of facility does the parking lot serve?
• What are the lot’s hours of operation and peak usage times?
• What is the size and layout of the parking area?
• Are there existing security measures in place?
• Have there been any recent security incidents or concerns?
• How well-lit is the parking lot, especially at night?
• Are there blind spots or areas not covered by surveillance or lighting?
• Are security personnel currently present or desired?
• Is there controlled access for vehicles or pedestrians?
• What is the primary objective for improving security?

Access Our FAQs on Parking Lot Security

Complete a Security Risk Assessment

Once your site survey is completed, the next phase of managing any security risks is to identify areas of vulnerability at your parking lots or dealerships. 

When performing a risk assessment, you should: 

1. Identify the vulnerability 
2. Assess the likelihood of a security breach occurring 
3. Establish the severity of loss or damage a security breach could cause

This needs to be completed with any, and all risks presented to your lot or dealership as this helps you get in the mind of any intruders or criminals looking to target your business.

If you’re unsure of where risks may present themselves, below offers example risks that your parking lot or dealership could experience:

• Your business has experienced security breaches previously 
• Your site lacks adequate perimeter fencing 
• Your site includes blindspots
• Your site does not have proper lighting

Following this, you need to establish the specific risks faced by your lot or dealership as this will help determine the type of surveillance solution or solutions needed. From LPR solutions and Surveillance Trailers to signage and SOS alarms.

And most importantly, understand any legalities relating to your State.

Different states have different legislation governing the use of surveillance cameras, so it is important you remain ahead of any legal requirement or limitations determined by either your location or application. For example, the specific need to use NDAA-Compliant cameras.

If you would prefer to seek external support to carry out this risk assessment, look for an experienced professional with prior knowledge about parking lot security.

Choose Your Parking Lot Security Measures

Parking lot surveillance cameras are generally considered the best form of protection for all parking lot and dealership types, however, in all cases you need to consider your options.

Through our years of experience, we’ve found that a blended approach of small and large measures alongside surveillance cameras helps to maximize your parking lot’s security.

There are numerous measures you can implement in addition to surveillance cameras, and these are as follows:

• Increased access controls
• Perimeter fencing
• Manned guards
• Increased lighting
• Signage
• Physical barriers like bollards

In all instances, we’d suggest the implementation of high-quality, mobile surveillance cameras that both live monitor and record any incidents that take place in your lot or dealership. 

Mobile surveillance cameras provide a wealth of benefits, including:

• Create a visible criminal deterrent that helps to reduce theft, vandalism, and other crime
• Offers rapid, flexible security that can be relocated easily with minimal operational disruption
• Provide remote monitoring which you can assess and review live via any device
• Gathers high-quality evidence for criminal investigations in event of an incident
• A cost-effective, convenient solution that can be catered to your lot’s needs
• Helps reduce insurance premiums and improve liability defense

Mobile surveillance cameras play a large role in parking lot security, however, having the right product and service is vital to ensuring effective coverage and protection of your lot or dealership.

Hence why the next step is to establish the best supplier or suppliers to fulfil your parking lot’s security needs.

Establish the Best Security Suppliers

Finding the right security supplier(s) is important, otherwise you could still be leaving your parking lot or dealership at risk of security breaches without even knowing.

When looking for a parking lot surveillance solution, you need to consider your supplier and service which backs their product as this underpins the success of your security.

Also, with suppliers that provide advanced systems like ourselves, they offer add-ons which allow you to minimize the number of suppliers needed. 

For example, offering LPR integration alongside your surveillance cameras. This means you only require one supplier to cover both needs, which is easier than managing two and is also more cost-effective.

With suppliers for additional measures like perimeter fencing, access control measures, and manned guards, you should weigh up your options and consider any legal requirements for them.

For some States and industries, there will be specific regulations you need to follow, and your suppliers need to align with this.

Ensure Ongoing Support and Regular Reviews of Your Security

A good parking lot surveillance supplier should provide ongoing support, from product maintenance and performance management to ongoing technical support and customer care. 

This ongoing support helps to maintain uptime and minimize operational disruption. 

One small lapse in surveillance could be the difference between your business remaining safe or facing severe financial loss, liability claims, and operational damage. 

Therefore, the benefit of ongoing support is that you have the expertise of trained professionals and high-quality technology to help throughout. This helps to capture any issues early, and provide you with proactive preventative tools to avoid downtime.

As a business, you should also review your security on an annual basis at minimum to ensure you still have the right surveillance in place to manage the risks presented to your parking lot or dealership.

These reviews can highlight any weak spots or new threats that have emerged and allow you to react appropriately to this.

Why Choose LotGuard Parking Lot Surveillance Solutions?

Our mobile surveillance units are designed specifically to secure parking lots and dealerships. 

They detect, deter, mitigate, and report criminal activity whilst providing 24/7, live security.

Our units feature built-in video analytics capable of detecting suspicious behavior like loitering, and, when coupled with our live video transmission, allows for remote crime prevention to occur. 

LotGuards feature HD infrared cameras that record crystal clear evidential images in low lighting conditions, and even in complete darkness, allowing our trained operators to dispatch Law Enforcement and capture usable video for review.

The PTZ cameras allow for full site coverage, backed by remote video monitoring services that acts as a proactive, virtual security guard that helps to prevent parking lot crime and intercept it if needed. 

Interested in learning more about us as a supplier and how we can support you? Speak with a LotGuard expert today!

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