Apartment living is the way of the future. There are now more than 6 billion people in the world, but unfortunately our floor space isn’t expanding as fast as the population … so apartment living will be the solution. In terms of security, apartment living has some distinct advantages, and also some distinct disadvantages. Today we look at how apartment dwellers should modify their security strategies, including elements like back to base alarm monitoring and CCTV camera systems as well as more basic elements.
Safety in Numbers
Burglars often target apartment complexes because there are dozens of homes within a very small space, each of them potentially very rich in goods that can be quickly, and untraceably, converted to cash.
This can work both for and against apartment dwellers. It may attract burglars who wouldn’t have otherwise come to your home … but it also means that if your apartment is more difficult to break into than another one, yours will be left alone. Simple steps like deadlocks, or even the signage you get when you sign up for back to base alarm monitoring can easily deter a burglar when there are so many other homes so close by.
Now, to encourage your neighbours to sign up for home security monitoring also!
Look Over Your Shoulder …
It is also critical to protect any outside portion of your apartment from burglar access. Balconies and small courtyards often have glass sliding doors to access the apartment … and glass sliding doors are notorious for being an easy way in for burglars.
Remember also that windows are a common weak point in apartment security – they are left unlocked or open far more often than doors.
Should I Choose a Good Neighbourhood?
A good neighbourhood actually about the same protection form burglary as any other. Most burglars come from areas that are struggling socioeconomically, and they don’t tend to burgle where they live. However, your personal safety is likely to be far higher in a ‘good’ neighbourhood.
Complex-Wide Apartment Security vs Individual Protection
It is a very good idea to consider the safety of an apartment block before you decide to move into it. However, complex-wide security is not a good replacement for a back to base alarm service, or even a CCTV camera system, installed on your own property and designed to protect your own family and home!
Complex-wide security cameras will try to cover many angles at once, usually making any footage that is obtained too small, too grainy, or the wrong angle to see a perpetrator. Additionally, complex-wide security can’t protect your apartment from people who have an authorisation code to enter the building generally. So fellow tenants, tenants’ girlfriends or boyfriends, and their children’s friends may all be allowed to enter the block – the perimeter security is not useful in protecting your home against them.
Apartments allow restricted access to the area around your home, but good back to base alarm monitoring is still essential.
