Top 3 Video Surveillance Setup Fails Property Managers Should Avoid

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Residential property managers all around New England know warmer weather means more activity at the community pool, gym, pub and recreation room. This hustle and bustle is a good opportunity to showcase property amenities as welcomed guests spend the night or the weekend. However, with the warmer weather comes unwelcome guests crashing parties, enjoying the pool or stealing valuables. To protect residents from these intruders most property managers invest in business security systems that include an access control system and HD-quality video surveillance. The more advanced systems are integrated with the buildings IP network allowing all security  components to work together. However,  IP video networking and HD resolution have little impact if video camera installation and maintenance are substandard.

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How to Prevent Vandalism and Theft During Commercial Construction

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

The construction industry is booming and shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects it will be one of the fastest growing industries by 2020. All that construction is great for the economy. It will create new residential and commercial properties and provide more construction jobs to the labor force. One disadvantage will be the increase in vandalism and theft on sites. Read more →

Enhanced Access Control for Your Building Means Fewer Break-Ins

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Commercial Real Estate SecurityWhether it’s an office, school or apartment building, secure access control is a concern for everyone. For property owners, the responsibility of keeping residents and property safe from criminals is a top priority. Surprisingly, most burglars choose the most obvious and simple ways to break in. The most common time for a break in to happen is between 10 am and 3 pm and they usually go right through the front door. If they are bold enough to do that in broad daylight, they probably have no reservations about sneaking through the gate of a complex. Read more →

How Social Media Posts Of Your Holiday Travels Can Impact Home Security

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Social media is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends around the world, especially during the holidays. However, even though you may set the privacy settings, they can only do so much to limit what others can see and learn about you via your social networks.

According to AAA, 107.3 million Americans will take planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation to travel over the river and through the woods to grandmothers’ house for the holidays.

If you’re planning to join them, be aware that using social media could put your holiday safety and home security at risk. How so? Well, your friends and family may not be the only people paying attention to your posts. Smart thieves are watching not only your house but also your social media channels.  So your Facebook live broadcast of your holiday travels, or a photo of your vacation could signal a savvy burglar that it’s safe to probe your home’s security vulnerabilities. Read more →

How to Protect Your Home or Condo Complex from Holiday Package Thieves

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

This year in the 25 days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, UPS says it will deliver over 750 million packages to its customers. In fact, UPS says this record-breaking seasonal global delivery volume is approximately 5 percent above last year’s holiday peak shipping season volume.

FedEx, which also anticipates another record peak holiday shipping season, estimates it will deliver between 380-400 million packages. In the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the U.S. Postal Service also expects to deliver 850 million packages, which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Read more →

How Stores Can Mitigate Organized Retail Crime this Thanksgiving Shopping Weekend

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Thanksgiving shopping weekend can be a hectic experience for everyone involved but for your business, it’s one of the most profitable. All told, 20 to 30 percent of your 2017 retail sales will likely happen this holiday season with a large portion will occur this weekend.

Of those considering shopping the long holiday weekend, the survey found that 20 percent plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day (32 million). Black Friday will remain the busiest day, with 70 percent planning to shop (115 million).

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Business Security: 7 Common Security Measures Too Often Overlooked

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

As a business owner or manager, you know that security is critical to protecting your building and its occupants as well as maintaining your peace of mind.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, security can be compromised, especially if you overlook important elements of your risk mitigation plan.

We’ve put together a list of seven common security oversights commercial property owners and managers often make to help you avoid them. Read more →

Frequently Asked Video Surveillance Questions

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Learn the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions regarding video surveillance systems to help determine whether it might be right for your home or business.

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Security Tips for Apartment Property Managers

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Modern apartment buildingsAs a property manager you have a lot of people who depend on the safety and security of the apartment building you oversee.

Every day you have to deal with a number of challenges, including building maintenance, equipment inspection, handling residential complaints, hiring and maintaining qualified staff, and handling residents’ complaints. Read more →

Business Security: 10 Tips to Prevent Shoplifting

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

In 2016, the average inventory shrink rate, increased to 1.44 percent, up from 1.38 percent in 2015, according to the National Retail Security Survey 2017. Shoplifting by outside customers, accounted for 37% of retail inventory loss, followed by 30% in employee theft, 21% in administrative errors and 5% in vendor fraud. This loss cost retailers about $48.9 billion worth of inventory, a National Retail Federation survey found.

Items most commonly stolen include clothing, books, music, jewelry, watches, tires and car parts. “Everyone thinks about little Johnny stealing a pack of bubble gum, but there are also professional gangs that target stores and steal billions of dollars every year,” says Joseph LaRocca, an adviser for the National Retail Federation, in the article. Read more →