Security and safety Youve got the tower! Car park operators can rid their facilities of antisocial behaviour by using mobile and temporary CCTV cameras, explains Gideon Reichental, senior manager at Clearway Property Services and chair of the Vacant Property Section of the British Security Industry Association ow level crime and antisocial behaviour can cause fear and distress among the public not to mention cost and aggravation to organisations. Badly lit, insecure open-air car parks can be a magnet for drug dealers and gang members, as well as for thieves looking to steal property from motorists and vehicles if not the vehicles themselves. Boy racers also seek out wide open car parks on which to perform donuts an activity that some people view as annoying and noisy, but otherwise harmless. If you happen to have left your vehicle in a car park where this is going on, however, it can be extremely scary. Such activity is also an enormous concern for those who manage such facilities. After one episode in the overflow car park of an out-of-town shopping centre, it cost more than 400,000 to clean and resurface the tarmac. Temporary CCTV towers were eventually installed, which enabled the police to track the offenders via their number plates, and they were prosecuted. L again, mobile CCTV camera towers proved to be the solution to these problems. Solar-powered towers operating 24/7 and with a near-360 view of the surroundings connect to sensors around the site and can pick up anyone who comes and goes. When movement is sensed at night, the towers powerful LEDs illuminate the area and record whatever caused the activation. Each activation is accompanied by an automated voice message saying live CCTV is active and recording. If the cameras are monitored in an alarmreceiving centre, a person can be on the end of the microphone, and police or security patrols can be summoned immediately. Keeping such locations safe and secure is the challenge for whoever is responsible for car park security. Mobile cameras in vans, or easily moved temporary solar-powered CCTV towers, are ideal for open-air car parks, especially when they are used for special events, shows or car boot sales. Antisocial behaviour is a menace, but by taking simple security measures it can be stamped out. If you happen to have left your vehicle in a car park where boy racers are performing donuts, it can be extremely scary Safe and sound Industrial areas can suffer from similar issues. One engineering company endured constant break-ins, theft and vandalism to its vehicles even when they contained nothing valuable. Meanwhile, staff and interviewees at an employment agency at the same location many of whom are women had to walk across dark, deserted car parks. The industrial estate also attracted boy racers at the weekends but, britishparking.co.uk 41 PN Oct19 pp41 Clearway.indd 41 23/09/2019 14:07