How Safe does a gate make the community?

The board has been asked by a resident about changing our keypad to allow for the buzzing in of guests. Our small community of 13 homes has a gate. We did install camera's last year at the gate as we had some new construction theft when we built our home, it probably was an inside job. We can see what cars are coming in and out as well as license plates upon exiting. In the 15 years that the community was developed, there has been no other theft.

So many people need our gate code-all delivery companies, current builders and all their subs, realtors, etc. I don't think changing our keypad to allow for residents to buzz in guests is going to change the safety of our community. I don't know if the added expense would be worth it. Lot assessments would go up about $20 per year but the majority of the lot owners here still haven't built a home and I don't think it's fair to have them bear the extra expense for something that most likely will not change a thing for community safety.

Curious to see if anyone has a community where you have an intercom system at the gate. Any maintenance issues with the system? Does it actually make the community safer? If yes, how so?

Thanks,
Debbie

I dont live in one, but Michael has a great approach-is there a way you can check how many people go in and out of the gate every day and what percentage are mail carriers, delivery people, etc? You may be able to drill down further to see if there are certain days and/or times of days are busier than others. Hopefully, Michael will return to provide more information on how he obtained the numbers.

Personally I think gates tend to create a false sense of security and intercoms make more sense if you live in a high rise. With 13 homes, I don't think it's necessary at this time. You have some cost information, which is a start, but you may also want to talk to the police in your area to see what they think. Reminding homeowners of things, like not allowing random people to drive in behind you (because they don't want to be bothered with an intercom) also help

You might want to tell the homeowner what law enforcement said - sometimes oeopke will accept 5h8s information when they hear it from people who know about these things. If tge resident still thinks this is a good idea, ask him ir her to do some research to demonstrate how this might work effectively. That may let you know if he ir she is serious,

You have to wait an extra 10 to 20 minutes for someone to come by and open it for you
Unless there's a security guard there checking you in there pretty easy to bypass

Gates are a false sense of security. Working in the industry even security guards are somewhat a waste of money because by law all they can do is observe and report. You have to hire off duty or POST certified guards
to affect any sort of law and order. Add to that a vast majority of guards today are dumb AF and are ineffective on the job. Myself, I am observant and notice trends and things that would make any outsider or young person say i'm crazy and
it's no big deal.

Recently I had an rideshare driver deliver food to a resident, all is well, their drivers license and license plate was recorded on the "pass" software and allowed entry into the gated community. On the way out that driver honked his horn
to get my attention and immediately started pumping me with questions on who lives here etc. I made a report with the capture of the screen shot of his pass entry and forwarded it to the board and PMC

The same when I see ride share drivers delivering food, groceries and that company named for a South American river drivers delivering their wares and there is more than one person in the car. That to me sends up a lot of red flags, especially
when it takes too long for them to make a delivery. They are not required to turn over a manifest and more than often there are just too many A---on drivers in private cars coming and going at all hours of the day and night.

Those are just a few of my observations. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box and connect the dots. More than often people ignore the elephant in the room. When it comes to community security, noting should be ignored or dismissed.

how does a camera record a persons face at night in a car? did you just get lucky? seems like the car would have to stop and the driver would have to look in the general direction of the camera.

We have six entry gates into various parts of our community. I also believe they give a false sense of security. We tell people they are access control gates and not security gates. If someone wants to get in and commit a crime, they will do it. Plus during the day we have delivery drivers, contractors, etc. Once they are in, you can't stop them from going anywhere they want. We do not have manned gates so you access by a keycard, a key fob, a transponder or by calling a resident from a kiosk at the gate. So many people just let anyone who calls in. There is no real security.

We have a new camera sysem with excellent cameras. We capture all license plates and we can see the driver's faces - even at night. Once in a while we will get a request from the police to look at the footage but it's rare because we live in an area with very little crime. Mostly we use the camera footage to catch people who damage the gates.

I think a lot of people feel the gates make the community seem more "upscale". The do control random traffic. It's hard to say if the low crime rate is due to the gates or just the area, but we still occasionally do have a theft.

Downtown high rise on city block. We have entry/exit gates at a 24/7 staffed kiosk. Years ago the CEO of our MC convinced the board to call the staff in the kiosk Access Control Officers (ACOs) and explain that Imply "sacristy or as some residents called the, "guards" gave the false impression that they job is to protect residents. She argued that "ACO" helps remind residents that we must be diligent.

We have fob access to our two lobbies from the street so the big doors are like "gates." The PM is pretty good at remind residents to not let strong strangers follow them into the building. There's also an entry phone system where persons at the lobbies doors or at the kiosk if the ACO steps out, phone a unit & the occupant buzzes them up. Th elevator goes only to the relevant floor. I'd say about once a year a person, usually a homeless person, will gain access to the lobby. They seem mainly to be looking for a restroom.

Where are the cameras and who monitors them?