Is Your Next Storage Unit Secure?
If your belongings are worth more than a few hundred dollars, they may be worth a thief's time. A low security storage facility is a mixed bag for thieves because their ease of access is often matched by items that don't have much resale value compared to the risk. Avoid making your belongings a rare treasure in easily robbed storage units by understanding a few key security features that can make or break a security guarantee.
Perimeter Protection
For basic clothing or old paperwork that you simply need to store outside of the home, any storage shed will do. For anything of significant worth to you, make sure that the storage facility is either indoors or within a well-secured wall of fence.
Perimeter protection in walls and fencing means more than just putting up a basic border. Stopping people from getting into the facility in strange ways is key, but you also want to have clear surveillance of anyone who manages to make it into the facility.
This means that the innermost perimeter wall needs to be close enough to be seen from the storage units, but far enough that a person jumping the wall can't immediately duck into shadows or behind cover. A short jog should be enough to make people stand out against an open field, as opposed to a huge field with areas that might be missed on a quick glance.
Surveillance Systems And Patrols
Cameras are key, and are made more powerful with the previously mentioned wall security. Light posts can be a great place to mount security cameras, but you can tighten security by going to an indoor storage facility.
Indoor facilities have fewer hiding points in general, and the business doesn't need as many cameras to cover every part of the facility. This means fewer chances for a thief to go unnoticed while focusing on something else.
Be sure to stand in front of the cameras and take not of the date and time. Ask the facility management to show surveillance video from that specific time to be sure that the cameras are actually working, and that evidence can be brought up easily.
Security guards are helpful when the facility has a lot of members who access their storage units at all hours of the day and night. Some thieves are clever enough to become members of the facility just to rent a unit for further theft. Such theft happens by slowly breaking into locks while looking like a legitimate customer, or breaking through walls on the inside of the unit.
An active, patrolling security guard team can reduce the more clever theft attempts, but check every few months at different hours to make sure that security guards are aware and performing regular patrols.
Contact a storage facility management team, such as at Payless Self Storage, to discuss facility security for other ways to keep your belongings safe.