The Importance of Security and Tips for Community Safety

As a community association or property manager, you're responsible for meeting your bottom lines and running the association smoothly, but you're also responsible for community safety. Your residents are the livelihood of the community- and without their safety the overall value of the community will not be as high. Whether it's a condo or a large neighborhood, you need to make sure that your residents are protected and that they know it.

Here are 6 tips for community safety

1. Install Cameras: This one seems obvious, but you would be surprised how many people fail to install cameras around the property. Having cameras not only allows you to keep watch over common areas and those prone to crime, but it also deters crime in the first place and lets you check past history in case a crime does occur.
2. Hire Security: Having security at all entrances to the property and making sure that someone is checking the grounds sporadically is important. It makes residents feel secure and makes it more difficult to commit a crime.
3. Keep Grounds Maintained: Safety isn't just about crime, it's also about personal safety so you need to ensure that the grounds are maintained and there are no areas where someone can easily hurt themselves.
4. Keep Residents Informed: You should always make sure that all residents are kept up to date with what is going on in the area. If police are looking for someone nearby, you should let residents know to be careful. The more they know about what is going on, the more precautions they will take themselves.
5. Screen Residents and Employees: Always screen all residents and employees to make sure that you're not making it easier for someone prone to crime to get in the building or neighborhood. The last thing you want is a crime that could have been prevented had you done your homework.
6. Constant Assessment: Just because you're on top of safety now doesn't mean that you always will be. You should be constantly assessing the area to see where security can be improved and you need to stay up to date with the latest in security technology.

Don't let safety be the reason that your community isn't as successful as it could be. It's your responsibility to keep residents happy and secure and these tips for community safety will help. Remember, prevention is always the best thing when it comes to crime and safety- so think ahead and look towards the future. Click here to learn more about tips for community safety.