How Vehicle Patrol Can Prevent Crime in Your Gated Community
When you think of a gated community, what comes into your mind must be that it is a relatively safe place to live, do business, and probably bring up children. After all, gated communities are residential and business areas surrounded by a wall or a fence. The security in a gated community is meant to add a layer of protection and ensure that residents and businesspeople operating within the city are safe from possible vandals and intruders. However, the fence and gates are not enough protection, making gated communities not as secure as many people think.
Communities like these are a target for many criminals, who think of people living and working there as well-off. A vehicle patrol could be an excellent idea for crime prevention in your community. This article explains how a vehicle patrol can help.
Vehicle Patrols Increases Security Coverage
The gates and walls in a gated community only provide an illusion of security. The truth is that gated communities are not always as safe as they are believed. Burglars, vandals, loiterers, and trespassers will still find a way to access the community if its security is not enhanced.
People believe that those who live behind those gates and walls are better off socially and financially. People like those are less likely to be found at home, as they are away on business or vacations most of the time. This makes gated communities a more attractive hit point for burglars and other criminals.
Enhanced security will serve to deter crime, and this is what you receive from a vehicle patrol. The presence of a security patrol with armed guards will cause criminals to think twice before hitting the area. Criminals will still shy away, even though the patrol vehicle was full of unarmed guards. Their main worry is for the guards or police to catch them committing the crime.
Services of vehicle patrols are preferred because a vehicle can cover more ground in a shorter period. A criminal is likely to be found even before they break into a home or business by a car than by a security guard on foot. All residents and business people feel a lot safer with a vehicle patrol than security guards on foot.
There are more properties to guard in a community, and security guards must keep watch on all of them simultaneously. This is possible to achieve for vehicle patrol security guards. The additional security level ensures that criminals are not taking advantage of any blind spot that could compromise the safety of the entire or part of the whole community.
Authoritative Presence Scares Off Would-be Criminals
Security presence is enough to enable residents and business people living and operating in a gated community to go on with their lives with minimal or no worry. The authoritative presence of patrol guards allows them to move about and work freely, forgetting about any form of insecurity that could rob them of peace and happiness. The same presence is enough to scare off would-be criminals that could target the community. While all patrol guards could achieve this, it works even better with vehicle patrol guards.
Vehicle patrols offer enhanced security presence than patrol guards operating on foot. They project professionalism and authority needed in a place that can easily attract criminals. Patrol guards on vehicles can spot security threats fast and take immediate action. They can quickly alert the police if something is amiss before the problem escalates. Professional patrol guards will carry on with their work without interfering with the community residents.
The authoritative presence of vehicle patrol is a sure threat to on-site criminals. No one would dare vandalize or break into a home or shop even when the patrol car is out of sight. They know that the vehicle will appear at any time, and the guards might catch them while in the act. Eventually, people from inside and out of the gated community start respecting others’ properties and the personnel a lot more than they did in the start.
Visible Crime Deterrent
It is not enough for criminals to know that a particular community has enhanced security presence. Buildings with security cameras and on-foot security guards are burglarized every day. Criminals will still go in and try their luck. However, visible security personnel will cause them to think twice before attempting any criminal activity in the community. Criminals are not sure how security guards in a patrol vehicle will react. That is why they are likely to keep off a community with vehicle patrol.
Therefore, vehicle patrol services are the way to go if you want to keep your gated community free from any kind of crime. Some people will want to try illegal activities inside a gated community, such as using or selling illicit drugs. Others would try to cause a nuisance, especially when they feel security guards on foot will not catch up to them. Other people will just wait to disturb residents and business people in the community.
Vehicle patrol has an advantage. It can penetrate areas that security presence is not usually felt. Guards in the vehicle can quickly respond to a call by a disturbed neighbor. When criminals know this, they will never try anything on-site. This keeps your community free of all criminal activities. It will give you more reasons to enjoy your peace while living in that gated community.
Enhances Response Time
Insecurity in a gated community doesn’t always come from outsiders. Some people within the community might try to cause mayhem. Remember that you are living or doing business with people you do not know so well. The gate and fence might be useful in keeping off would-be criminals outside the community, but there could be one or more characters like those inside the community.
Patrol guards do an excellent job of minimizing the rate of crime inside an already secured community. But a vehicle patrol will do a lot more. It will ensure that security guards respond to calls without delays.
If something happens at one end of the community, it might take security guards from the other end a lot of time to respond and arrest the situation. But vehicle patrol guards will be there in no time. Their quick response might stop the criminals before they fulfill their motive. It could also serve as a warning to other would-be criminals, especially if they run the risk of being caught.
Remember that a person that has been caught in the act of crime has a higher chance of being convicted in a criminal court. That is why many will only attempt a crime when they know their chances of being caught are minimal. No one wants to be apprehended or even stand before a judge in a trial.
A vehicle patrol increases the chance for the guards to catch and apprehend criminals. Thus, criminals will not dare to attack anyone or anywhere within your community.
Visibly Marked Patrol Cars Are a Turn-Off for Many Criminals
Companies offering vehicle patrols have their vehicles marked, resembling those of law enforcement agencies. Visibly marked vehicle patrol cars are a significant turn-off for criminals. No one would attempt committing an offense in a place where the police or equally trained security guards are passing now and then.
Those criminals who move from one location to the other looking for an easy target to attack will move on once they realize that your gated community has a marked patrol vehicle guarding it. This is an excellent way of keeping everyone in the community safe, peaceful, and also for loss prevention.
It’s a Cost-Effective Security Solution
Enhanced security comes at an extra cost to residents living in a gated community. Already, they are paying more for housing and other amenities than people living in an open society. Enhanced security to them must come at a bargain, which is impossible to achieve in most cases. However, vehicle patrol services are not that expensive. Companies offering patrol services serve many communities at a go, and so, their services will come at reduced costs. It is a chance for your gated community to enjoy more security at a bargain.
Again, think of how much you stand to lose without enhanced security? Criminals are always on the lookout, monitoring a property or community to attack. They will only go on if they are sure that it will be an easy job. They want to be sure that they will go on, grab valuables, and leave without being caught. If criminals know that there are patrol guards in your community that might stop and probably call the police on them, they will retreat and look elsewhere. With enhanced security, your valuables and peace of mind remain intact.
There are many security solutions available for gated communities, including remote-controlled security cameras. None of them is 100% effective in keeping your community safe from crime. Some of these solutions are expensive and will come with additional costs such as repairs and regular maintenance, increasing the overall costs. A vehicle patrol does not come with any of those extra costs and requirements. You only need to sign up with a company offering vehicle patrol services, and your community will be well covered.
Vehicle Patrols Provide Better GPS Tracking
GPS tracking is one way in which security companies maintain accountability with their clients. It is one thing to say that security guards will offer vehicle patrol services around the clock. It is another to actually have those officers there in your gated community. There is no way you can combat crime in a gated community if there will be no security measures in place in the first place. This is what makes the vehicle patrols an excellent choice.
Vehicle patrol guards provide clients and their bosses a way to track them using GPS. This way, the security company and members of the gated community will always know that there are security personnel around and their exact location inside the community. This gives them peace of mind as they go about their lives. People running businesses within the gated community, such as high-end hotels, want to be sure that they can receive help immediately if there is a security problem. No one wants to compromise the safety of his/her clients or lose business to insecurity.
Members will only need to install an app that connects to the GPS in the patrol vehicle, and then they can know the whereabouts of the security guards. Security personnel who like to boycott work for no valid reason will not do that, as their seniors can track their movements in real-time.
A vehicle with GPS tracking capabilities is also a threat to those planning to attack the gated community. No criminal would want to strike a place where people are alert and can call in security personnel at any instance.
Highly-Trained and Experienced Patrol Guards
Officers operating vehicle patrols (armed and unarmed) undergo intensive training before they can be assigned a duty. In states like California, all security guards must have a certificate to show the kind of activity they have undergone before being hired. Security guard training covers different areas, including self-defense and communication. A trained guard will know what to watch out for a while on duty and how to react fast before a security threat blows out of proportion.
Armed security guards go through additional training to ensure that they can properly use a firearm in case of a severe attack. During the training, security guards are trained on how and when to use a gun effectively and safely handle weapons. They are also trained on quick response in case of a safety threat.
Criminals will be wary of a place guarded by highly trained security guards. They will even be more scared of a place with armed patrol guards. No criminal wants to get hurt in the process, just the same way they do not want to be caught. Vehicle patrols mean that armed guards will be there in no time, which scares them even more. Would-be criminals do not need to see firearms to be scared of patrol guards in your gated community. They want to attack a place with no security, one that will provide a quick and easy escape.
Highly trained security guards will also curb crime within the community. As earlier mentioned, the threat is not just outside the community but in the community as well. No one would attempt any criminal acts as long as officers patrol the area every day.
Remember that some of those working as patrol guards are off duty police officers. Criminals know this and will try to avoid a place where they are likely to crash with law enforcement officers. They understand that an arrest will lead to a criminal record that could significantly affect their lives.
Vehicle Patrols Are Quick to Coordinate
Imagine a real security situation in your gated community. How will it be handled before members and customers are hurt or before they lose their valuables? The advantage you receive with vehicle patrols is that they are comfortable and fast to coordinate. In no time, enough security guards will be there to handle the situation before it gets out of hand.
Daring people commit many crimes. They know that they run the risk of being caught, but they will strike anyway. Security guards on foot will be too slow for a well-planned criminal gang. They may stop the gang before accomplishing their mission, but something will have been lost, or someone will have been hurt before their quick escape. The worst news is that the gang could get away with it.
It is different when vehicle patrols are involved. Security guards patrolling vehicles are more organized. They can quickly arrive at the scene and also call others on vehicle patrol for backup. Criminals are aware of this and would therefore stay away from a community like that. Their chances of being caught are higher by vehicle patrols.
Additionally, you expect vehicle patrol guards to be on the radio and mobile patrol app all the time while on duty. A simple message or call will catch their attention, and in no time, they will be there to rescue the situation.
Find Vehicle Patrol Services Near Me
If your gated community doesn’t have enhanced security in place, it is at risk of attack by possible criminals such as thieves, vandals, and burglars. No one would like to live or operate a business in a place like that. Engaging the services of a vehicle patrol service is an excellent idea. It will keep everyone within the community safe and at peace and reduce crime within the community. If you are in Los Angeles, CA, call us at 844-457-8326. At Green Knight Security, we have armed and unarmed patrol guards and off duty police officers that could guard your community during the day and at night.
