In a recent blog, we discussed how auto dealerships across Western Canada are particularly vulnerable to theft this year due to the rising value of catalytic converters. With that in mind, are you worried that your car dealership isn’t secure enough to avoid the damaging consequences of theft?
That’s exactly what one Alberta-based car dealership realized after a recent crime that targeted their facility.
A car dealership in Rocky Mountain House, according to CTV News, is dealing with tens of thousands of dollars in damage after a thief stole a pick-up truck from inside the building.
Surveillance footage of the theft shows a Dodge pick-up truck, which was allegedly stolen out of Red Deer, approaching the main doors of the dealership before nudging them open. The thief then went inside the dealership, where they were filmed rummaging through the front desk area where they found a key to a vehicle.
After noticing the remote keys turn the lights on for a new GMC Sierra inside the car dealership, the person got into the truck and drove straight through the exit doors where he loaded up gas cans from the previous truck and then drove off.
The RCMP Police Dog Service and Rocky Mountain House RCMP officers later located and arrested the person, but the dealership owner, Brent Kennedy, told CTV News that he estimates his business has suffered close to $50,000 in damage.
So, what can car dealership owners do to further improve their security measures and minimize the costly impacts of crime? Sonitrol Western Canada has listed a few best practices here:
Install a verified security system
To ensure both the inside of your facility is secure as well as the vehicles on your lot, it’s crucial that your car dealership invests in a verified security solution as opposed to a traditional CCTV alarm system.
Unlike traditional CCTV that just records a crime as it happens without alerting anyone or verifying the threat is real, verified alarms send live streams directly to security experts in a 24/7 central monitoring station who are able to verify when an alarm is a real threat or a false alarm.
Once verified as real, these security experts are able to immediately alert the police with real-time updates. It’s because of the verification step that police respond to Sontitrol verified alarms on average in just 3.5 minutes - compared to the 45 minutes or more of traditional CCTV alarms.
Keep your keys secure with managed access control
If a thief can make off with a vehicle outside of your main building they will, but in many cases they need to break into your main building beforehand to get the key (unless they can tow the vehicle off of your property).
And it’s not just keys, your dealership has a huge amount of valuable assets inside your facility from expensive tools, specialty parts and your cash register. You can protect these items through an additional layer of security - managed access control (also known as keyless entry).
Managed access control will hide your valuable assets behind a locked door, that only employees with the keys can access. Your dealership can strictly control who is allowed in those rooms, making it significantly more difficult for thieves to make it out with your most valuable items.
Other best practices for keeping your car dealership secure include:
- Park vehicles with their e-brake on and the tires sharply turned in one direction, to make it more difficult for thieves to tow them away.
- Train your staff in car dealership security, and ensure every employee knows how to properly lock up the building at the end of the day.
- Team up with local businesses to keep an eye out on suspicious activity.
- Invest in GPS technology for the cars that you are selling.
- Hide the dealership licence plates.
- Enforce a strict inventory management system so no items go unaccounted for.
Do you have any further questions about car dealership security, or simply want a free security audit of your dealership? Contact Sonitrol Western Canada today. Our team of Western Canada-based security specialists are ready to help.
