Why a Secure Parking Lot is Important?

Security Signs for Parking Lots

Parking lots are seen all over the country in many different structures and different sizes. There are open lots such as those found at ballparks or many malls. There are also high-rise lots, basement lots, or even small community lots. Though almost every single lot is different from every other lot in some way, they all have at least one thing in common, safety. Every parking lot is concerned about the safety of its customers. Some may have to worry less, as they are in nice neighborhoods and have high security, and others have the concern of safety in them at all times. It has become clear over the years that many different types of criminal activities have become common in parking lots. The reason for this is because there are few places better to commit a crime. Many times, parking lots are small, enclosed, deserted spaces with poor lighting. If there were a place for a criminal to commit a mugging, or to steal a car, these lots are the perfect places. The belief now is that a parking lot should be as secure, if not even more secure, as one’s own office or home. The variety of crimes that are committed range beyond even theft or rape. It is extremely important to have a secure parking lot in order to reduce such a high crime rate. Allowing people to walk around a deserted area with shadows and darkness looming around them is dangerous and not right. Too many stories have been told about a woman walking to her car, and even if she is watching out for anything suspicious, someone jumps out from behind a nearby car and steals her purse, or hits her, or rapes her. These occurrences have led to an initial push towards high security in many lots. Many lots have placed warning signs around the lot to advise people to stay alert at all times. A typical CCTV sign is shown below.

Various lots have also implemented security cameras and emergency call boxes, which by the press of a button will notify security guards or policemen where you are and that you need help. Other lots have used security patrols throughout the lot and at the entrance where drivers may be required to show ID.

The concern for crimes in parking lots has risen even more over approximately the last five years. After the tragedy of 9/11, threats of more terrorist actions were being announced almost daily. The basic plan of a number of those threats was to plant explosives in the basements of parking garages located in commercial districts, or other highly populated areas. These threats showed people just how much secure parking lots were needed. They had gone from being the location of many small crimes, to possibly being the site for the deaths of thousands of people. However, even with these threats, and the constant threat of other crimes in lots, some lots have not taken to getting higher security. It is a hope that soon it will be realized how important it is for the lots to be secure.

As technology continues to grow, advancements in parking garages and their security have arisen. One new development, which was not made specifically towards security, but certainly helps, occurred in Hoboken, New Jersey in October 2002. On a street two blocks off of the main street in Hoboken, a parking garage was opened that is entirely automated, but still has personnel working inside. If a driver has purchased a spot in this garage, they and their car are very safe inside. Once a driver purchases a spot, they are given and identification card which also acts as an automated access card, similar to an E-ZPass. The garage is locked at all times and the entrance is a retractable metal gate. When the driver drives the car up to the gate and swipes the card, the gate opens, and then closes as soon as the car is inside. The driver then drives to an area inside where an automated lift awaits. The driver gets out of the car and once again swipes the ID card. The automated lift then carries the car away to its designated spot. This parking lot in Hoboken is the first of its kind in the USA, however, with its automated gates and with the car being placed in a spot twenty feet off the ground with the automated lift, the driver and the car seem to be quite safe.

Though danger in parking lots is always a possibility, it is important to enforce a secure lot, even if it is not as high tech as Hoboken’s, because criminals believe that crime comes easy in such dark and deserted lots. It is time for that thought to end.

— Joseph Glatman Zaretsky