Condo Media - December 2019 - 36

A NEW ERA

SECURITY
TRENDS

Although technology is driving most
of the future trends in the security
arena, design is playing an important
role as well. One theory in particular
is gaining adherents: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
(CPTED). The underlying idea is, "you
can control the behavior of a reasonable person by changing the physical
environment," Christopher Lanni,
CMCA, AMS, CPP, president of Secure
Residential Services, LLC, explains.
The changes involve more common
sense than esoteric design concepts,
he says: Making sure all the front
entrances in a townhome community
face forward to provide a clear line of
sight; removing shrubs or other impediments to provide unobstructed views;
ensuring that areas are well-lit. Making
security a priority also requires rethinking some standard design features. For
example, Lanni notes: Frosted glass on
lobby windows is aesthetically pleasing
"but makes it impossible to see someone lurking in front of the building."
VIDEO CAMERAS. The quality of
this equipment is improving, producing
higher resolution and sharper images.
Video systems are also becoming
interactive. They don't just display im-

ages, Lanni says; they deliver an alert if
something is amiss. The employee who
looks away from the monitor might not
notice that a pedestrian has followed
a car into the garage. The system can
be programmed to spot such aberrations, Lanni explains, and an alert would
prompt the employee to review the video. An interactive video system can also
be a rules enforcement tool. If the rules
require two people in the pool area, the
image of a single person would trigger
an alert. Equally important, Lanni says,
an employee who does not have to be
glued constantly to a monitor is free to
perform other tasks, making personnel
more versatile and more productive.
ACCESS CONTROL TECHNOLOGY.
Within the next decade or sooner,
Lanni predicts, key fobs and card
readers are more likely to be found in
museums than in condominium communities. Cell phones and smart key systems will replace them, using software
that allows residents to open garage
doors and gates, lobby and other common area entrances, summon elevators,
and unlock the doors to their units.
These integrated wireless systems have
many advantages, he says, primary
among them: "Owners are less likely
to lose their cell phone than their key
or key fob. They are also less likely to
loan their phone to someone else."
But these systems are more complex
and impose greater burdens and responsibilities on managers, he notes.

"A 200-unit building might have five
key readers; but that building with
keyless doors will have 200 of them.
If an owner loses a door key, you call a
locksmith. If the lock reader fails at 2 in
the morning and an owner can't open
his door, you have a major problem."
The problems are solvable, he says,
but the technology requires policies
and procedures and careful thinking
about such questions as: "Who will
have the authority to reprogram locks
or reproduce credentials." Wired
systems are also vulnerable to being
hacked, he acknowledges. "For every
entity that is trying to create safe,
secure, and convenient environment,
there are others trying to do the opposite. There will absolutely be issues
with vulnerability," he agrees, adding,
"There is a certain level of comfort that
comes from simplicity."
DISASTER PLANNING. More boards
are developing disaster plans and emergency response protocols-and should
be, Lanni says. "They are starting to realize that bad stuff can happen" to their
communities. They are developing basic
plans detailing how to communicate
with owners, where they should meet,
what the association will and won't do
during an emergency and outlining
other safety protocols. This planning
is essential Lanni emphasizes. "If you
don't have a plan in place, people will
ask why not. It will become a 'know or
should have known' issue."

Within the next decade or sooner, Lanni predicts, key fobs and card readers
are more likely to be found in museums than in condominium communities.

CONDOMEDIA December 2019

Condo Media - December 2019

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