Pub. 1 2016 Issue 4

14 www.ctaahq.org A par tment complexes tend to attract tenants who are single, female, or older. As the U.S. population ages, and as younger people struggle with school debt and lower wages, it seems likely that more and more people will choose to live in high-density communities. Unfortunately, many residents are more vulnerable to crime than people living other places might be. Some criminals prey on apa r tment complexes and condominiums for that very reason. e FBI has found that a theft takes place every 15.4 seconds in the U.S. Typical thieves (or at least the ones that are arrested) are usually young men between the ages of 18 and 21, although they might be as old as 25. ey live close by and often know the neighborhood. Many thefts are done on foot rather than by car, unless the thief needs a car in order to take larger items. Sometimes the thief has a friend who lives in the apartment, or even lived there himself at an earlier time. Cash, jewelry, laptops, and electronics are the most popular targets. Most burglaries happen during the daytime, through the front door, and (in 70 percent of the cases) involve hammers, pry bars, and screwdrivers that have been used to gain forced entry at a weak point. What can you do to protect tenants? One extremely e ective way is to make the apartment complex itself safer by discouraging any thieves who might be checking it out. ieves love easy targets: empty apartments that don’t need a lot of work to get into, lots of cover to hide an entry, and multiple escape routes. e more di cult you make it for a thief to rob an apartment or condominium, the less likely it is that a thief will even try. Not all of the following suggestions will apply to all complexes, but if any of them do apply, you might want to consider implementing them: • Replace any doors that don’t have peepholes, and Install good deadbolt locks on every door. Don’t forget balcony doors. ey should have the same deadbolts that a regular door would have. (If you need to gain access to the apartment for some reason, make sure you have a key.) Good deadbolt locks are about 1.5 inches (35 mm) when they are extended fully. e strike plate on the door frame should be secured with screws that are at least two or three inches (50 to 75 mm) long. at way, the strike plate is not just attached to the door frame; it is also attached to the wall. • New tenants should have the locks changed. You don’t want previous tenants to be able to get into any apartment with an old key. • If your complex has a lot of families, you might consider installing peepholes low enough for children to use them. • ink about security of your apartment complex from the point of view of someone who has a disability, and modify your security to accommodate that person’s needs. • Check the windows. Do they close fully? Is the locking hardware in good condition? Could a thief lift a horizontal window out of its track? • If you provide places for tenants to store items, such as a locker or storage room, look at how the access door is locked. Are any door hinges and screws covered? You want to make it so a thief can’t get into the storage area by unscrewing hinges or hasps. Bins and cages should be sturdy. Use a good-quality padlock and a well- secured hasp. • Put locks on laundry facilities and storage areas, and only give keys to tenants. e entrance should be on the outside of the building and should have good visibility. Don’t screen it with a fence or with landscaping. • Keep the complex well-lighted, especially in the parking area. Good lighting is an e ective way to prevent vandalism. • Consider putting in security cameras and alarm stations in the parking area, especially if your apartment complex has had problems with theft or security. • Make sure the lights in corridors and lobbies are controlled by a timer or a photocell so that an intruder can’t just ip o the light. Have inside lights on during any hours of operation. • Get rid of hiding places under stairwells. • Equip elevators, laundry rooms, and exercise rooms with a telephone and an alarm or duress button. is equipment should be connected to an outside monitoring station and to the resident manager’s apartment. • Use lots of glass doors, windows, and side lights in public areas such as lobbies, storage areas and laundry rooms, so that it’s easy to see into the area. • On-duty employees should wear an identi cation card while they are working. Non-o ce sta should wear a uniform. Temporary workers should be given a temporary identi cation for use while they are working, and tenants should know what the temporary identi cation looks like. • If the apartment complex has a security system, make sure it meets or exceeds any local requirements for security systems. is generally includes doors, windows, and lighting. SAFETY IN HIGH-DENSITY COMMUNITIES