Crime Affecting Car Dealerships Is on the Rise
In 2021, 194,876 vehicles were stolen in California, at an estimated total value of approximately $1.7 billion. This is a 7.7% increase from the 2020 total for vehicle thefts statewide, whereas car thefts in San Diego jumped 27% during that time! This translates to one vehicle theft every three minutes. Four out of ten of those statewide thefts occurred at car dealerships.
Automotive Dealerships Face a Variety of Challenges
Car Dealerships are easy targets for criminals. They often have large, unsecured perimeters that are difficult to monitor full-time. Often, they also have lesser-visited overflow lots which can make it difficult to tell that a vehicle is missing.
Car thieves have become more daring; not only stealing the whole car, but they also target catalytic converters, tires, and rims.
In Louisiana, thieves stole 124 tires and rims. The theft, caught on camera, showed two men sneaking on to the property in the early morning hours, dismantling the cars, and then leaving the tireless cars propped on blocks. Police valued the theft at over $120,000.
Not All Security Systems Prevent Crime
While video surveillance and video management systems (VMS) can be effective for forensic investigations, they are not proactive in preventing theft and vandalism.
Furthermore, on-site security guards have their limitations. They can only be in one location at a time, and may not be able to physically observe everything in their immediate surroundings due to a variety of conditions, as well as facing distractions from normal daily activities, such as eating or using the restroom. Hiring security guards is also a large expense.
Protecting Car Dealerships from Theft and Vandalism
The best and perhaps the only way to curtail theft and vandalism at car dealerships is by maintaining vigilant wide-area video surveillance by live video guards. Our Proactive Video Monitoring (PVM) solution provides live situational awareness through virtual on-premises video to detect and prevent incidents from happening and/or escalating. Taking this approach to risk mitigation can reduce losses and liabilities for auto dealerships with extensive physical properties and operations.
Preventing Crime with Live Video Surveillance
Our Proactive Video Monitoring with AI technology identifies suspicious activity or unwanted behavior the moment it’s detected. Then trained, live remote guards deter the intruders with personalized audio warnings. When our live video guards engage the criminal with audio commands, 97% of the time the suspects leave. In the unusual case they are not deterred, our security command center immediately calls law enforcement all the while keeping eyes on the scene.
Live Remote Guarding can help safeguard any vehicle dealership from uninvited individuals with AI-Driven Analytics and highly trained live video guards that detect, intervene, and deter crime at a fraction of the cost of on-site guards. Our remote video monitoring services excel where traditional alarm monitoring companies fail.
