Security tips in an owners' community

According to Article 17.1. of the Spanish Constitution, security is a right. Neither our home nor our Community of Owners should be insecure places. That said, it is necessary to be aware of the environment in which we live.

Security problems in homeowners' associations are not limited to: burglary crimes in homes, garages or storage rooms. 

We must also bear in mind the following ilegal or annoying acts:

- In dwellings: Illegal "occupations", the carrying out of criminal activities inside, or the development of business by circumventing any explicit prohibition in the community statutes.  

- In common areas: The alcohol uncontrolled intake or the vandalism suppose an important expenses in repairs for the community, the use of the facilities like the swimming pool on the part of intruders or out of the established schedule.

For that reason from Prevent we give you some advices that will reduce the probabilities of suffering criminal acts on the part of intruders and to avoid the uncivic acts and to minimize the problems of coexistence between the own neighbors:

1.- To protect all the accesses to the Owners' Community:

In order to maintain our Owners' Community safe, it will be necessary to avoid that intruders can sneak in, so much of the most evident ways or with  the tuffer ones.

The areas through which intruders could enter our Community of Owners are:

Doors: These are the areas where most crimes are committed, such as assaults steals or acts of vandalism. In addition, they are the main access route for intruders to the homes. That is why it is of vital importance to protect this area of the building.
Garages: They are one of the most vulnerable points for the security of the Community through which intruders can access, to steal vehicles or parts for resale, or to reach the housing area.
Rooftops: When we think about the security of our Community we rarely think about protecting the access through the roof, however, these are vulnerable points especially in buildings in the historical centers of the cities, where the proximity makes it easy for intruders to jump from rooftop to rooftop.
Façades: Criminals specializing in residential burglaries are sometimes able to climb any surface up to open windows, which is why more and more burglaries are being carried out using the climbing technique.
 

2.- Avoid giving access to strangers to our Community of Owners:

When opening to someone the door of our home we usually verify their identity, however, we do not always do it when opening the doors of our building. 

These actions will prevent strangers from loitering in the common areas of our Community of Owners:

Do not open to strangers from the intercom: We must be cautious when opening to someone from our intercom, and, when in doubt, do not open if we do not expect anyone.
Place a mailbox outside the doorway for commercial mail: In addition to gaining convenience by keeping advertising out of our personal mailboxes, we will prevent intruders from accessing our building.
When we enter or leave the community with our vehicle, wait for the garage door to close before leaving: The rush can play a trick on us, if when entering or leaving with the car we do not wait for the door to close, any intruder can enter behind us.

3.- To have a united community of neighbors in which its members support each other:

It has been proven that a united community is safer, since knowing our neighbors will make us notice when there is someone unknown lurking around our Community and, in addition, neighborhood solidarity will be a great support in the face of any threat.

These are actions that can help us to have a closer relationship with our neighbors:

- Keep all members of the Community informed of important issues of the building: One of the most frequent security threats are scams to elderly people, in which intruders pretend to be technicians. If we warn all the neighbors of the services that will be provided to the community and the maintenance work that will be carried out in the building, we can minimize the risk of this type of scams.

- Pay attention to the empty houses of our building: The illegal "occupation" is not only a problem for the owner who suffers it, it can also bring insecurity to all the neighbors. For that reason, if there are empty houses in the community, we must observe if there are marks or witnesses in the door, or if we hear suspicious noises inside. It will not be superfluous to try to disguise the fact that the dwellings are empty with actions such as repositioning the doormat after cleaning the landing.

- To count on the help of our neighbors when we go on vacation: If we have a trusted neighbor we can ask them to pick up our mail, or even leave them a copy of the keys of our house so that they can check from time to time and pretend that the house is inhabited.

- To have a way to contact our neighbors: In case any incident should happen, or in case we perceive signs that alert that your home may be under surveillance by thieves, or that someone may have entered in your absence. Let us remember that in cases of home invasion, the owner's quick action will be of great importance.

4.- To count on professional security measures:

If the community chooses to hire security measures, it will be important that these are installed by an approved security company, to avoid failures in the systems, lack of support and maintenance or even legal problems.

The most efficient security systems to protect the common areas of a community of owners are:

- Video surveillance cameras: No one who does something illegal or illicit wants to be recorded, so security cameras will be a highly dissuasive element not only for intruders and thieves but also to prevent the members of the community themselves from committing acts that damage the coexistence.  In addition, in case of an incident or crime in the Community, the recordings of the cameras will serve as evidence.

- Access Control Systems: If the accesses to the community are made by means of a conventional lock, with the passage of time there will be more and more copies of the keys of a portal or a garage due to the rotation of tenants or employees, the theft or loss of the keys or the copies that are made without the knowledge of the Community. This results in anyone being able to access the common areas.

However, if the community has an Access Control System with encrypted and personalized devices for each of the authorized persons, it will be possible to keep track of the existing devices, being able to manage and cancel them individually and remotely, without affecting the whole system.

Hiring security systems for our Community of Owners is an efficient solution that will allow us to access professional security solutions at a lower price by sharing the costs of installation and maintenance among all the neighbors.

Prevent Security Systems Team