Active Surveillance Is An Effective Way To Prevent Apartment Car Theft

June 21st, 2024

Car thieves will often target apartment parking lots and garages in and around Houston, TX when they’re looking for something to steal.  With so many people coming and going they don’t look suspicious, and since there are so many in one place they can quietly move from one car to another checking the doors until they find one that’s unlocked.  That or they break the window in the middle of the night.  After that they climb in, hotwire the ignition, and get away as fast as they can.

Car theft is a serious crime, and it’s a serious problem.  All too often the police can’t do much to help after the fact because many of these stolen vehicles go straight to a chop shop where the operators change the color and the license plates or else tear the vehicle apart and sell the pieces.  So what can apartment managers do about the problem?

Surveillance Works

While car thieves could target the crowded parking lots around grocery stores and big-box department stores, they usually don’t.  Why?  Because businesses that stay open late enough to have customers at night will also fill their parking lots with cameras and have their security staff watching the feeds.  This allows them to notice a theft immediately and call the police, and they can react fast enough to catch thieves before they even leave the parking lot.

Live Monitoring Is Key

Of course, the most important factor in that last example is the fact that someone is actively watching the camera feeds and not checking the recordings later.  These recordings can certainly help, but thieves often wear clothes that conceal their faces and don’t give the police much to go on.  It’s good to have proof someone stole it when you’re filing an insurance claim, but it doesn’t help with much else.  However, someone watching the feed live can do something, which is what makes it important to have that.

You Have Low-Cost Options

Not every apartment complex can afford to hire a full-time security staff, especially if the primary duty is to watch camera footage and call the police if something happens.  Fortunately, apartment managers have more affordable alternatives.  Thanks to modern technology, wireless cameras can send their footage across the property or across the world in about the same time, and so many security companies offer their clients a service that has them monitor your camera feeds and contact the local police if they see something suspicious.  This service is less costly than a full-time employee and more effective than a recording.

Deterrence is just as important as theft prevention, so when you get your security system make sure you add signs that warn people there are actively monitored cameras around.  This should help prevent thefts from happening in the first place, although it won’t stop every thief from trying their luck by calling what they think is a bluff.  With both in place, your apartment’s parking lot or garage area will be a much safer place to store cars in Houston, TX.