Since parking lots and garages are seen to serve a simple, common and uncomplicated need, they are taken for granted by and no special attention is given security wise. But any business owner with parking lot for clients or where parking is the main business, there must be awareness of certain parking lot security precaution to avoid incidents which could have been prevented. As it only takes one incident to make you wish you had been more attention and cautious.
These incidents can result in negative publicity and lawsuits on negligence and well as discouraging customers from patronizing your business. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about minimizing risk at your facility, including parking lot safety tips you can begin implementing today.
While no one likes to consider the worst-case scenario happening, there are lots of negative activities and crime which can happen in a parking lot. Some of the activities include:
- Car vandalism or Theft
Knowing that car park are usually devoid of crowd car thieves find it easy to penetrate, targeting carless individuals who leave their vehicles unlocked or windows open. Some are simply seeking what to steal and where valuables are left openly displayed, they vandalise to steal.
- Various violent and nonviolent Crimes
Many violent and nonviolent crimes occur in parking lots, as they are usually devoid of witness, dark and thus difficult to notice. Certain industries have their parking lots more prone to crime e.g. bars, casino, hotels, and similar industries, and copious amount of alcohol and offence is a recipe for disaster.
- Accidents
Without the proper lightening, layout, over-speeding, etc., parking lots can be dangerous. For example, drivers over-speeding and hitting persons walking by the side heading to their own vehicles, hitting stationary cars. Various similar situations may arise and they can cause damage to both the victim and your business.
Ways to ensure safety in your Parking Lot
Irrespective of the type of facility housing a parking lot, it is important for it to be safe and secure for the users at all time. Thus it is necessary that threats are removed and potential harm taken away. Below are some security tips to consider adopting to having a safe parking lot.
- Regularly Inspect the Parking Lot
Regular and thorough inspection of the parking lot is a great way of spot potential problem. During inspections, it is important to consider safety, space, lightening, potholes, clear parking spot marking and other things that may lead to accident or encourage crime (like hiding places, blind spot etc.).
- Improve Lighting
Crime befriends darkness, as darkness hides it. It is important that a parking lot is well lit to enable people clearly see what is happening and prevent hiding by criminals, as the possibility of getting recognised is high.
Also, people generally feel safer in a well-lit environment, as they are assured that no harm will come to them, due to the criminal’s fear of getting caught.
- Hire Security Personnel
The need for having a well-trained security team cannot be overemphasised.
Trained security personnel are skilled to deter crime from occurring and responding to such situations. Also, they help with access control and confirm that criminals do not have access, ensure parking lot rules are not broken, etc.
- Use Signage
Signage in the right places can help warn people about potential dangers, entrance and exit, parking spots, places to keep off, turns and bumps, etc. this generally allows for a safer parking lot and reduces the possibility of accidents, as drivers are well aware of how to navigate the parking lot.
- Install CCTV Cameras
Security cameras are one of the best and most cost-effective security technology gadgets you can install to improve the general security of your facility. They generally serve as a deterrent to potential criminal’s, as cameras in strategic places can help in surveillance and monitoring or the general outline of the parking lot and spot security breaches, etc.
