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Crystal Lake Homeowners Association
Situation
The Crystal Lake Homeowners Association is a beautiful residential community located south of Atlanta in Hampton, Ga. Like many communities throughout the United States, the association was experiencing an increase in after-hours safety incidents around the community’s amenities area. Specifically, young adults were staying past the scheduled closing times at the pool or were hosting impromptu parties within the parking lot adjacent to the pool area. This activity was recognized as both a safety risk and a potential exposure to liability for the Homeowners Association.
Challenge
The Crystal Lake HOA needed a way to prevent and respond to activity recognized as both a safety risk and a potential exposure to liability for the Homeowners Association, while at the same time upholding community standards and goodwill with residents.
Solution
The Homeowners Association Property Management contacted the Allied Universal Monitoring and Response Center (MaRC) team to request viable solutions to counteract these ongoing problems. The MaRC is a 12,000-square-foot, Five Diamond UL listed facility located in Richardson, Tex., just outside of Dallas. The facility combines leading edge video surveillance equipment and software in one user-friendly format to improve situational awareness at client locations.
After an in-depth, onsite evaluation, the Allied Universal Assessment Team recommended installing two video analytical closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras with integrated audio capabilities in the problem areas. Allied Universal conceived and directed all aspects of the new video system, including the project’s design, engineering and installation of the CCTV cameras and speakers. After the security system became operational, the remote video monitoring services were provided by the MaRC. The center’s Security Intervention Specialists provide three suites of services to the Crystal Lake Homeowners Association including:
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Video patrols with audio-voice capabilities
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Response capability to video analytical alarms, and
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Ability to take action when required with a proactive approach.
All of the preventive security services provided by the MaRC are designed to limit trespass, vandalism, community rule violations, and to provide safety to the community. The proactive video patrols with voice interface lets the community residents know that the new surveillance system is live and active. The video patrols allow the Security Intervention Specialists to determine whether any rule violations occur throughout the day and then take action if necessary. Lastly, a video patrol is conducted approximately 10 minutes before pool closing time with a pre-designed announcement to remind residents of the pool’s closing.
After the pool is closed, the video analytical system is programmed to generate an alarm to the MaRC when specific, pre-designated behaviors occur such as:
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Individuals entering or exiting the field of view
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Dwell times as to how long a person stays within the area, and
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Other pre-defined conditions.
If a rule violation is detected with a video analytical alarm, a MaRC Security Intervention Specialist can take a proactive approach and prevent an incident from becoming more serious by utilizing the voice-enabled camera speaker feature.
Specifically, if a video alarm is detected in the pool or parking lot area after hours, a live Security Intervention Specialist will let trespassers know that they are in violation of community rules and then request them to vacate the area. This is a highly effective and proactive solution for the Homeowners Association, especially around the amenities areas.
Result
As designed and implemented, the Crystal Lake Homeowners and Property Management Vice President Michael Reis has seen a drastic reduction in the level of rule violations. “This solution has saved the community on overall vandalism-related maintenance and repair expenses. But more importantly, the community has witnessed a significant decrease in after-hours incidents, which makes the community a much safer environment and improves the overall quality of life for all residents,” says Reis.
