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Security

Why It’s Time to Upgrade Your Condo Lighting

When owners and managers of commercial, retail, condominium and industrial properties consider security strategies, their thoughts tend to focus on components such as security systems—and rightly so.

Robust security infrastructure should be anchored by electronic monitoring and alarm technology that protects key points of entry, monitors movement around a property and determines threat levels in an effective way. But a focus for Wincon Security in recent years has been systems integration—developing a comprehensive security strategy that analyzes a property or asset’s security requirements in a holistic fashion, then leverages all relevant technologies to protect it.

One component of an integrated security strategy that we include—and which many others tend to overlook—is also one of the simplest: advanced lighting.

Many building owners forget that good condo lighting is essential for security cameras to do their job.

Statistics show that when a city or municipality introduces effective lighting to a public area such as a park, incidents of crime tend to decrease. With nowhere to lurk and hide, police can patrol more effectively, and bad guys tend to think twice before breaking the law. The same logic applies to commercial or residential buildings. Legal liability can also be significantly reduced if a property owner has taken reasonable steps to light their buildings and surrounding grounds.

When designing any security strategy, we use the following checklist to determine necessary lighting coverage improvements:

Location—Are light fixtures placed in the right places to deter nefarious behaviour? That could mean installing simple wall-mounted lamps or pole-mounted fixtures. The important point to remember is that every area of a building needs adequate lighting coverage. That includes doorways, back alleys and loading docks, side entrances, and parking lots. The latter tend to be largely overlooked and under-lighted.

Technology—Does your property leverage the very best lighting technology available? In most cases, that means using technologically advanced LED lights that tend to provide extra brightness, better coverage and involve less maintenance. Sure, they may be more expensive to install initially, but the long-term benefits are substantial and will help improve your organization’s bottom-line, while also helping to mitigate the risk of break-ins and other security threats. Consider it an up-front investment in your property’s long-term security and safety.

Condo privacy and security lighting
For cameras to work effectively, they need to see who they are filming so condo lighting is key.

Spacing—You may have ample lighting, but is it properly spaced out? This goes back to the earlier points on installing lights in the right places. What we tend to find is that organizations will purchase ample lighting, but then concentrate it in high-traffic areas or around critical assets. Makes sense, right? Yes, but every entrance must also be covered, not to mention pathways to and from important areas (where crimes tend to occur) such as parking lots, particularly if your property is located on a larger campus with benches, picnic tables, or other areas where employees or customers might congregate.

Light levels—Are you relying on outdated lights that no longer do the job? Many properties—e.g., those that haven’t undergone a substantial lighting retrofit—would definitely fall into this category. Because modern LED technology is becoming more affordable almost by the month, not to mention more advanced in terms of available lumens (brightness) and coverage output, we tend to recommend their integration. Even if you choose not to go the LED route, bear in mind that standard filament or halogen lamps are far more effective than in the past (even if they’re gradually being phased out in most jurisdictions). The point here is that if your lighting is far older than your security system, it’s probably time for an upgrade.

As a complement to other technology—Are you taking a holistic approach to your lighting strategy? Many property owners fail to realize that sound lighting is also essential for the smooth functioning of security components such as CCTV cameras. Why? Put simply, for a camera to work effectively, it needs to be able to see who it’s filming. The same goes for drone technology that is being implemented across many larger properties and campuses such as sprawling factories or production facilities, not to mention the use of robots in factory and shopping mall settings. Each of these technologies work better when their onboard cameras can identify possible threats, emergency situations such as fires, or even medical emergencies.

Doing so requires a lot of light in the right places. If your organization hasn’t dedicated a budget to purchase security-friendly lighting, now is the time to make the investment.

Do you need to improve your condo lighting?

FILL OUT OUR QUOTE FORM AND ENJOY A CONSULTATION WITH US.

 
Learn More by Requesting a Custom Quote

Winston Stewart, President & CEO

May 7, 2018/by Winston Stewart
Security, News

Starbucks incident offers retailers a lesson in smart security

About the only positive development that can be gleaned from the recent incident at a Philadelphia Starbucks store, where two African-American men were arrested after being reported to authorities by an employee, is that it offers a teachable moment for retailers, security companies and their staff.

The two men, entrepreneurs and friends, told media outlets they were at the Starbucks to meet a business associate. As reported widely in the press, one of the men asked to use the washroom and was denied because he hadn’t made a purchase.

When the two took a seat to wait for their friend, they were approached by a Starbucks employee who asked if they needed help. The men say they replied that they were OK, and were waiting for a colleague who was joining them for a meeting. The men sat and chatted when, several minutes later, police entered the store and asked the duo to leave. They apparently refused, citing the fact that they’d done nothing wrong.

They were arrested by police and eventually released without charge. They’ve since settled with Starbucks and the city, the latter agreeing to fund a pilot program for young entrepreneurs.

The incident soon blew up into a public relations firestorm for Starbucks, which has apologized and plans to close 8,000 of its U.S. stores for a day later this month so that employees can undergo racial sensitivity training. Not surprisingly, a boycott-Starbucks movement emerged on social media calling for customers to take their latte-buying dollars elsewhere.

The situation underscores an important point that retail store owners should always keep top of mind: security is a team effort that requires training, reasonable application of policies and common sense to be effective. If not, your organization is susceptible to a Starbucks-esque disaster.

First, let’s see how this interaction could have played out.

In situations where there might be legitimate concerns as to why non-paying customers are in a store, a manager, employee or security guard can simply approach the individuals in question and ask if they need any help—or a cappuccino, perhaps? In this situation, that seems to have happened. In most cases, customers will explain their reason for being in the store—such as waiting on a friend—before placing an order, making a purchase or leaving. Situation resolved.

starbucks cup of coffee
We help retail organizations train employees on situation management techniques

In this case, it seems an overzealous Starbucks employee opted for the nuclear option and called the police even after the men explained their intentions.

If customers are in any way belligerent—and if the store does, indeed, have a policy restricting seating to paying customers—it’s a simple matter of pointing out the policy and then giving the individuals time to leave. If that doesn’t work, it’s all about de-escalating the situation to avoid conflict.

Again, in most cases, a simple explanation of policy will defuse a situation. That’s assuming that the policy is clearly displayed on the front door or prominently behind the counter—and that can be the first part of the problem.

Many retail organizations fail to define and display their policies clearly so that customers and even staff understand how they will be applied. Whether the Philadelphia Starbucks store had a sign declaring that customers must make a purchase before taking a seat is also unclear, although media reports indicate that the store did maintain such a policy.

If that is the policy, it should be displayed prominently and in writing. That also begs the question as to whether such a policy makes sense from a brand perspective. For an organization such as Starbucks that prides itself on maintaining an open-door, laissez-faire atmosphere for people to spend time and converse, it probably doesn’t.

From a retail security view, we help organizations train employees on client and situation management techniques all the time. Our main focus is always reminding them that they work in a service industry. As such, their primary objective should be maintaining positive interactions with customers (or potential customers), at all times. That means designing policies that are logical, easily applicable and designed to maximize client goodwill.

Does your store really need a buy-before-sitting policy? If not, don’t consider implementing one in the first place. If the answer is ‘yes,’ under what circumstances should the policy be applied?

Part of that training is focused on helping employees turn negative interactions into positive ones. That takes the right tone, supported by a smile and perhaps even a bit of levity to ease the mood. This is where common sense comes into play. Identifying potential problem situations, or even threat levels, takes a trained eye. Individuals who mean to cause trouble tend to display uncannily similar traits from body language to vocal tone. But the vast majority of people don’t fall into this category. In fact, the average retail employees will likely only have a handful of negative customer interactions throughout the course of their retail careers.

The basic principle is that if a person doesn’t fit the profile of a potential troublemaker, they probably aren’t.

Managers must also be trained in the fine art of de-escalation, and be prepared to build a culture of security vigilance that’s founded on the common sense that I mentioned above. If managers are quick to push the panic button, it sends a message to staff that every unfriendly or unwelcome interaction is a reason to involve police.

On that note, we should remember that—with the exception of extreme circumstances—if police become involved in a customer interaction, something has gone very wrong at the store level. Calling for police back-up should be a last resort for your store staff or security personnel unless a crime has been, or is being, committed.

The Starbucks incident is unfortunate, but at the very least it serves as a reminder that employee security training is essential. We can only hope that the coffee giant devotes part of its full-day seminar on racial sensitivity to security policies, as well.

 
Learn More by Requesting a Custom Quote

Winston Stewart, founder

Wincon Security

May 4, 2018/by Winston Stewart

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