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How to Secure your Homeowner's Association- Security Cameras and Alarms
Security Cameras and Alarms for Homeowner's Associations
Are you interested in learning how to secure your Homeowner's Association, but not sure where to start?
Use this piece hand-in-hand with our Beginner’s Guide for Securing Your Perimeter. It provides an excellent foundation and will help you think about the basics before you focus on the specific needs to your Homeowner's Association.
Your Homeowner’s Association is important for everyone in your neighborhood. Not only do you collect monthly fees and annual dues, it is also your job to enforce your HOA’s rules and keep the community safe.
A recent study found that 80% of people who live in a gated community believe that their gate adds a layer of safety. Unfortunately, that perception isn’t true. The reality is that gates don’t reduce criminal activity at all. In fact, they can actually attract criminals who think there’s something valuable inside of your community. Don’t worry though- gated communities have a huge upside. While they don’t stop crime, they do slow down traffic, saving the lives of many children every year.
With that being said, your HOA has security challenges and you may not know the solutions.
That’s where SCW comes in.
Want us to create a custom floorplan for your HOA?
Your HOA Isn't As Safe As It Could Be
Any building — commercial, communal, industrial, or residential — faces its own unique set of threats. Before a person can act, they have to be aware. We’re here to break down what are potential threats to your Homeowner's Association and how exactly you are able to handle them.
These are your top threats:
Gate Access Control
Criminal Activity in Your Community
Speeding and Traffic Accidents
Lack of Internet and Power at Your Gate
Emergency Response Time
How We Handle Your Threats
Each threat to your HOA is unique and requires a custom setup and a comprehensive plan. Below, we’ve laid out why you should be aware of each threat, what solutions we recommend for it, and how to best put your solutions into action.
How to Handle Gate Access Control
As an HOA, it’s your job to keep your community as safe as possible. Your HOA's gate is the primary entrance and exit for all residents and visitors, and you’ll want to know is coming in and out. Unfortunately a gate doesn't stop unwanted visitors from coming in and out of your community. It’s important that you have the tools you need to make sure your gate area is secure.
What You Need
A Varifocal Lens Camera, preferably one with a Bullet Style Shape for easy mounting
We suggest installing the varifocal camera, like the The Viking and the license plate camera at the entrance of your gate. The overview camera will allow you to see the make and model of vehicles entering while a license plate camera, like The Archer, will allow you to see license plates. Keep in mind that you will need to adjust the settings on this camera to ensure night images are good.
How to Handle Criminal Activity in Your Community
As you know, even a gate cannot keep people from jumping fences or breaking getting into your community. If there are unwanted visitors inside your community, you need to make sure houses and cars are protected from theft.
What You Need
Long Range Bullet Style Camera
Mounting long range bullet camera on corner lots within your community, will give you various angles and vantage points for monitoring activity. These placements can help capture cars as they pass through community roads, as well as criminals on foot, like porch pirates.
Many HOA’s implement an incentive plan to improve community security. This means the HOA provides homeowners with security camera systems for their homes in exchange for the sharing of their exterior footage. This allows the HOA to monitor multiple locations throughout the community, using camera footage captured at various locations. If you decide to implement this program, be sure to set clear boundaries and rules for information sharing. It’s important to set these guidelines to avoid abuse of data access.
How To Handle Speeding and Traffic Accidents In Your Community
You want your residents to feel safe inside their community. Most neighborhoods have children playing outside, or people walking their dogs. It’s important to make sure cars aren’t speeding through your community.
Mounting a long range bullet style cameras throughout your neighborhood gives you access to footage of speeding, hit and runs, or other traffic violations happening in your community.
What You Need
Speed Bumps or Roundabouts
You’ll want to use choke points to prevent accidents caused by speeding. Make sure your neighborhood has speed bumps or roundabouts. This will reduce traffic accidents and make sure you can recognize the make and model of unwanted visitors’ vehicles.
Mount the long range cameras throughout your neighborhood to give you access to footage of speeding, hit and runs, or other traffic violations happening in your community.
How To Handle Lack of Power and Internet at Your Gate
Not all community gates have access to a power supply. During winter, or other stormy seasons, it’s important that your gate doesn’t lose power or internet.
What You Need
Solar Solution
SCW’s solar solutions can provide more than security - for those who want to extend internet or have new wireless internet in remote locations SCW has solutions.
How to Handle Fires and other Emergency Situations in a Gated Community
Unfortunately, gated communities make it challenging for first responders to access your neighborhood in the event of an emergency situation. For instance, if a resident calls the fire department, the community's gate will increase the response time if the responders do not have an access code.
What You Need
3 in 1 Sensor for Smoke, Fire, and Temperature
By going with our Shield Alarm, one that features sensors on the lookout for environmental risks, you’re preventing emergencies before you have to handle them. Shield’s Smart Monitoring instantly sends the proper signal for the right help to arrive, whether that be an ambulance, a fire truck, or a police car.
Likewise, our 3 in 1 Sensor for Smoke, Fire, and Temperature alerts the fire department (and you) when smoke is detected, when an abrupt change in temperature has occurred, and when the temperature has exceeded a set threshold. Meanwhile, the Shield Alarm’s Freeze/Leak Detector notifies you when there’s excessive water or a temperature that is low enough to burst a pipe.
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