M Badler

Home Owners Assocation Crime



Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

by
Executive Security Group, LLC

Security committees of HOA are called on to evaluate security and safety in some form or another. Some recommend controlled entry gates or access control, security guards, fences, video cameras and other high-tech gadgetry.

Security is mostly perception based on personal experience and bias. For example, while a resident may feel more secure because of a new video surveillance system, an intruder may snicker because the system has major gaps. Effective security aligns both resident and criminal understanding. That means that both perceive there is a security barrier.

Doing so may expose the HOA to additional liability. A number of significant court cases have found HOA is responsible for assaults, fires, burglary, rapes and other violent crimes because they failed to provide promised security. In most of those cases, the HOA had boasted about its security. Never make such boasts. They are great lawsuit fodder for attorneys.

On the other hand, HOA's should be conscious of security issues and make the community reasonably safe and secure. An HOA and its residents can take many relatively inexpensive steps.

Unfortunately, residents are often the worst gap in security. They leave gates open, hand out keys, remote controllers and codes, and rarely question strangers even if they see them breaking into someone's car or fail to any action at all..

To address this weak link, the HOA should put out periodic reminders about specific security issues. The HOA's job is to keep residents aware. Information distribution is particularly effective following a crime. Meetings with guest speakers like police, detectives and security experts also work. Most residents know what they should do, but timely reminders keep them focused on the issue.

While cameras seem like a good idea, the equipment is expensive and requires human monitoring. It is better to have residents make repeated calls to local police. You can buy security cameras and recorders, but who is going to monitor the equipment?

Instead, make sure that exterior lighting is well placed and working. Gates and locks should be maintained and working properly. Landscaping should be trimmed to reduce cover and to allow light to disperse. Keep residents informed of neighborhood crimes as they happen. They are reminders to be vigilant.

The HOA needs to inform and educate its residents.

mbsource@comcast.net

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